Final Fantasy 7: The Enemy Within
by ilMaestroAmadio
Summary: Gaia is threatened by a catastrophe and Yuffie Kissaragi joins the WRO again under the command of Reeve Tuesti, who pairs her up with a unique fellow. Things will turn out to be drammatically different than they seem as the duo races to save Gaia. And themselves! (first fanfiction ever;M for violence/steam; post FF:DC;) (REVIEWS APPRECIATED);
1. FOREWORD

Hello, dear readers. If you are seeing this, that means that you have decided to take a look and read my fanfiction. For that, you have my gratitude.

I would like to tell you the basic facts: first of all, English is not my mother tongue, so take this piece of information into account when dissecting my work (Who am I kidding? If somebody really wants to write or make use of a language different than his of her native own, they should be sure they can master it; that being said, feel free to be as unbiased and as relentless as you whish in your reviews). This is my first story ever, so reappraisals are pivotal to me, especially in helping make my own mind whether to carry on with this part-time activity or to throw it all away and pursue something which does not entail grabbing other people's attention; something like porn movies or numismatic. The point being: review please!

Now let's get down to the real thing: I've always been a lukewarm Final Fantasy appreciator. I've never been able to play to any of the games of the franchise (save for the very last one), due to my lack of affinity for that kind of gameplay but I dare anyone to say that the stories and the characters are not captivating. To cut a long story short, I decided to catch up with what I've been missing by watching hours and hours of gameplay and cutscenes and since my discovery of the gilded world of fanfiction, I unearthed the epiphany that if a plot did not turn out the way I wanted, _hell_ I could always take my trusted laptop and write down whatever story I wanted, including whomever character I wanted in whichever setting I wanted. So here I am!

First question: why Final Fantasy VII? Because the charisma of the game itself is undeniable.  
Secondly, there is this peculiar situation where each of the character has been somehow well-defined but still everyone of us feels like they are entitled to add their own brush to Cloud, Tifa or even Sephirot. They are all a bunch of dynamic fellows whose attitude and thoughts evolve in the course of the entire arc of the story but a 'full stop' in their development never really occurs. So it comes as no surprise if someone makes Tifa and Cloud marry or split up or have the Turks plotting to gain control of the WRO. One day Cloud will shake his brooding attitude off or Tifa will give him the _dear John_ because she cannot stand him anymore, Yuffie will be the queen of its land or will forever relinquish her duties and Red XIII will morph into a superior being existing only in an intangible plain of reality. And the list goes on and on... The world of Gaia is still open to a myriad of possibilities and we are all here to put them on paper (or on server, specifically) knowing that maybe not everyone will like them, but most of us will at least find them a bit interesting. Basically, to sum it up, FFVII gave me the largest freedom available to paint my own version of events taking place after the last canon episode, that being Dirge of Cerberus.

Second question: why Yuffie? Because she is young, cute, badass and to me, like a blank canvas where everything can be drawn. Before you ask, I omitted from my story any other character I felt not too sure about its portrayal. One thing is to pick Yuffie, who has been sidelined in the games (in FF;DC she was more on-screen but still not enough, for me) one thing is too pick, say, Cloud or Aerith (if she was still alive!): I'm still not very knowledgeable of the trade and by choosing characters like them, I was risking too either corrupt them too much or to stick too much to the canon. As we say bak in my town: I'm going to fall if I dare to lean. Let's take this adventure one step at a time and let's stay away from the more complex characters (this might be conflicting with what I wrote in the last paragraph, but believe me it is not!).

Third question: why an original character? Well, because everyone who loves FFVII, or any other instalment, wished to be part of the story. I'm not saying that the original character is a mirrored image of myself. I'd rather say that he is part what I am, part what I've been and largely what I'll never be. So let it be an OC!

I began writing this story somewhere in late September, after flunking the admission tests to the university. Realizing I had much more free time and after a bachelor's party through the Balkans kickstarted my imagination (that and unhealthy amounts of glasses of _rakija)_ , Fall 2016 saw a good two thirds of the story completed. Christmas saw me coming to a grinding halt, due to the arrival in my family of _Final Fantasy XV_ and the tale was left dormant for about a month and a half. Then on a lazy weekend of February, I sat by my desk and did in two days what I was meant to do in two months. The brain surely works in mysterious ways!

The story has been edited, especially chapter-wise, in order to be more readable. I'm going to frequently check for typos or grammatical errors. Feel free to point them out. I took great fun in writing this fiction, and it's also my pride, without second thoughts. I'm happy how it turned out to be, so I hope you will enjoy it as well.

One last recommendation: writing is a whole load of fun. Go write your own tale and bring it to the light of the internet! Start writing and you won't even need Netflix, believe me!

Thanks a lot to you all again. Have a nice day!

ilMaestroAmadio


	2. Desert

DESERT

1.

The desert beyond the Mythril Mountains was known for its scorching heath during daytime and for its bitter, stingy cold when the moon took the place of the sun. It transitioned from a pool of lava to a frozen lake in a matter of hours, in short.

The shape of the Mythril range and the peculiar atmospheric features made this isolated and secluded land a haven for creatures nowhere else to be found and whose viciousness was matched by nothing else in the world. Ironically the lush and inviting Grassland Meadows lay right next to it, just on the opposite banks of the Sunflow Lake.

Yet, to the man measuring the great outdoors with his steady and fast pace, that meant nothing at all. Nor it meant anything much the heath that had seeped through the fabric of his uniform and the thick moisture growing on his skin as a result. They all were tangential to the nature of his presence in that godforsaken land, to the mission he was carrying out and that he was determined to accomplish. The twilight was painting the desert with eerie shades of orange and purple and soon the last flicker of light would have died out and left the man at the mercy of darkness. As he paced the terrain one footprint after the other, it quickly descended upon the desert, cloaking everything under a layer of thick darkness and blistering cold air.

The man stopped right there in the middle of nowhere. The moon was doing her best to provide a faint source of light through the curtain of the night, pierced by the astonishing beauty of the stars. Not a sound was to be heard miles around.

The man gazed upon the sky over him, allowing himself the taste of amazement. He had travelled long and wide e through the entire world, but the desert surely was a place with a unique and maybe unrivalled beauty. Maybe it was because it was the extreme opposite of what it used to be his hometown, or maybe it was because of the fact that the very beauty he was momentarily contemplating hid a stark reality of danger and risk. And, to an extent, he liked risky business. He was the kind of guy who liked to be thrown into a pack of wolves because he was sure to eventually emerge as the alpha male.

Thinking about business put him back on his feet again: he took off his helmet and combed his black, short hairs with his hand, giving relief to his itching scalp. The cold pierced his cheeks as soon as he pulled his scarf away from his mouth but he welcomed that stingy feeling. As a final touch, he loosened the straps of the uniform around the neck and it was as if he could feel the heat escaping through his clothes. He slowly and silently breathed out in relief.

The man was young, well into his twenties, but his calm and firm demeanour fitted someone at least ten to twenty years older than he actually was. He was the portrait of someone who had to face battles when he was the least prepared, but managed to come out mostly unscathed. That was probably the reason he was trusted to venture all alone in the desert. He was a resourceful guy, somebody who would have found a safe spot almost anywhere and a reliable element of a team of people striving towards a common mission, always ready to put everyone before himself

'Come on Cade, you are not that clever' he frowned, sternly thinking to himself. It always happened like that, the solitude would make him begin ponder over the course of his life, sometimes falling into the pitfall of self-overestimation. He was not that old either, and therefore not that wise or accustomed to the way of the world. Still, he had grown up being surrounded by people who had a lot to teach him and Cade was undoubtedly someone who learnt quickly.

'One thing is to learn, one thing is to put teachings into practice' he concluded with a slight grin on his face, reaching for the binoculars in the rucksack. His focus shifted once more back to his assignment. Normally he would have been sent into the operational theatre along with a well equipped team, but the mission at hand requested among other things, discretion. A massive searching party would have lured undesired attention. Cade had a reputation of being a good and surprisingly (for his age) skilled Scouter so his call into action was something expected. It was somehow a variation he welcomed, a chance to earn once more the respect of his colleagues and the admiration of his superiors.

He scanned the horizon. The night sky and the ground were almost impossible to tell apart. Nothing was really misplaced. He scanned the horizon back in the opposite direction.

'There you are!' he thought as he froze, eyes pointed towards a small, greenish globe of light on the horizon. Not too far, judging from the string of numbers at the bottom of the binoculars' holographic lenses. He reached for the radio receiver lodged into his right ear

"Advanced Base, come in, over…"

"Cade, is that you?" a grumpy, yet familiar and friendly voice replied at the other end of the receiver, right after a burst of static

"No, I'm a vicious Chocobo of the desert. I ate the human known as 'Cade' and I acquired the ability of mimicking his voice…" he sarcastically joked, bothered by the oblivious reply he got. Normally radio communications required a less informal language, but Cade knew too well who was there at the other end of the wire

"Of course it's me" he continued

"Whoops, sorry… who else could be out there walking in the desert at this time of the day?" the voice realized, just as sarcastically

"Me and some unseen critters, I suppose…"

"Do you have a positive contact?"

"Positive. Not with any critters, but with our target" Cade confirmed "Heading northeast. Less than four kilometres from my position"

"Got that" the voice replied "I'll have the recover team ready in less than a minute"

"Orders?" Cade asked

"Stand by. Close in with the target and report anything suspicious"

"Do I have to report that lunch nearly busted my bowels today?"

"That was not suspicious at all" the voice laughed again "We all get the short straw every now and then!"

"Well, what _is_ surprising, though, is that not a soul is in sight. I though the desert would be bustling with insects, snakes and all the sort of night crawlers… not even a Cactuar" Cade observed

"Maybe you scared them off, that is all…" the voice guessed "Anyway, if you orders are clear, do not waste any more time. Boss is in a frenzy mood and wants the job done as soon as it can be done."

"Roger AB" Cade closed "Proceeding to the assigned point then. Out"

He took a deep breath, inhaling the cold, snarky air of the desert. He tightened the straps around the neck of the uniform and patted the stock of the rifle perched on his back, as to make sure it was there, ready to be deployed and, possibly, used. Not that he really wished for it…

He then set off towards the place where the green globe soared against the black sky.

Nearly a quarter of an hour had passed, and Cade had covered a good segment of the distance separating him from the target. As he approached, he could get a better picture of the scenery.

A string of dunes was concealing the source of a green, bright haze. Without being entirely sure of it, he could even sense a low hum buzzing through the air. It was not that intense, but yet it grew increasingly bothering, just as every noise gets after hearing it over and over.

He stopped atop of a sandy bump. The greenish light became denser as he was just a couple of hundred metres away from it. Now the hum was stronger and Cade had no doubts it was real and perhaps caused by the source of the light itself.

He knelt down and pulled a rectangular device from a pocket. He switched it on and connected to a transmitter lodged in his belt. He activated the radio device

"AB, come in!" Cade said

"Cade, we hear you! What's your status?" the same voice as before replied

"I'm probably less than five hundred metres from it. I'm activating the remote sensing probe"

"I see, I've got the readings streamed right here"

"What do you say?" Cade asked

A brief pause. The voice answered seconds later

"I think this is it. It definitely is…"

"You sound worried" Cade observed

"Well, the recovery team is on its way. I… We are not really sure what _that thing_ means. We know it is a big chunk of Mako, but if it is true that it came from up here…"

"…we should worry, and a lot! Right?" Cade guessed

"I think so, unfortunately. The readings aren't lying and they match what the eggheads had told us" the voice sighed

"Right when the world seemed finally at peace" Cade said, with a saddened tone

"Hey, cheer up! At least we are here to do something about it…" the voice cheered "Isn't it what you want?"

"Guess you are right! So, what's the ETA of the recovery team?"

"Five to ten minutes"

"Orders?"

"Keep the premises safe. Oh, and keep the remote sensing probe active: the more data we collect, the sounder the pat on the shoulder"

"And I thought I could get a medal for this!" Cade jokingly complained

"Don't even try that. Some time off would be great! Hell with medals and ribbons"

"Guess you're right again" Cade laughed

"I'm over for now. Next time I hear from youI hope you will be on your way back on the chopper. Out"

The communication fell silent and Cade found himself alone again. He proceeded further closer to the object of his mission. The hum grew more aggressive and harsh as he got closer, forcing him to squint in response and to put his helmet on back again.

He was finally metres away from the source of the mysterious greenish haze. The surroundings were awkwardly bright and immersed in a pale green cloud but visibility was perfect. The hum had turned by then into a vibration resonating through the dunes and Cade's body as well. Thank the Maker it was at least less painful to hear. It was actually like going through a massage, or having a cat purring right on your chest. He found that feeling to be surprisingly pleasant.

Up to that point, fear was something Cade had taken into account but never actually kicked in into his mind, hindered by the rush of adrenaline brought about by being immersed into action in a challenging scenario. But as he approached the ascent of the last sandy hill hiding the source of that haze, a thought rang inside him: what if standing close to the object was actually dangerous, or harmful? What if the haze was harmful itself?

Those where legitimate doubts but they were slowly being pushed away by an ancestral instinct labelled as 'curiosity'. Cade was weighing the pros and cons of getting even closer, maybe right on top of the hill so as to see with his own eyes what had caused so much hysteria at the headquarters of the World Regenesis Organisation. But as his thoughts trailed in his mind, he did not realise that he was inadvertently climbing the dune. He caught wind of his own actions only when he finally reached the margin of what appeared to be a crater, and stared at the bottom of the underlying pit.

The depression was relatively small, but it was soaked in daylight and therefore it appeared much bigger than it actually was. The noise had mysteriously subsided, and now it felt like a distant whisper. At the centre of the crater lied a cubic mass of the dimensions of a mid-sized crate. The surface was a dark shade of green and bright green lines ran from corner to corner. Cade took a better look and he could now see that the lines appeared and disappeared, as if the black cube was pulsating, living and breathing on his own. He stared down and marvelled at the sight

"Cade… where you…at?"

The transmitter activated but the voice came in disturbed. Cade reached for it

"AB repeat last message. There's a disturbance!"

"We've lost… transponder… emergency beacon… ah, fuck!" the voice barked, but Cade could not understand the request. He guessed that the dark green cube could be the source of the trouble with the radio. He backed off, hiding behind the ridge of the dune.

"AB come in again!"

"Cade, where are you?" the voice was still disturbed but at least it was audible

"I'm right in the crater. I can see the stuff we're after"

"It's probably messing up with the airwaves. I'm picking up enormous spikes of energy on the remote probe"

"That's what I thought" Cade nodded

"Look, Cade… I don't want to sound pedantic but I advise you to back off from that thing"

"Why?"

"Let's say that Mako interactions with human bodies are currently a subject of research. We don't know if it's good for you, or for everyone else breathing next to that stuff. Or standing next to it, as far as I'm concerned"

"I see… things seem to be quite smooth down here so there's probably no need to…"

Cade's reply was cut short. The ground began to tremble. He naively thought it was just an impression, just like the hum he heard before. He did not probably recalled that the hum turned out to be real, just as much as the tremors that were now growing in intensity, to the point of becoming powerful jolts that made him hopping up and down

"Cade! What's going on?" the voice asked, without getting any reply. A column of sand erupted right before Cade. He was thrown in the pit, his body describing an arc which landed right near the green light-emitting cube, missing a corner by inches. The transmitter flew away.

Cade cried in pain when the force of the impact got upon his back through the rifle and the rucksack. He could not move for an instant but still he was conscious, albeit unaware of what was going on. Dust and sand from the eruption filled the air rendering almost everything invisible. An inhuman and frankly otherworldly shriek wiped the dust away. Cade could feel his eyes exploding upon seeing the being behind all that commotion.

'I've complained about the absence of monsters a few minutes ago. Guess I've called it!' he thought

A worm-like creature had risen from the desert, twisting and turning his body. It was covered in what seemed to be a brownish fur but as it got rid of the sand, Cade speculated they where actually talons. But the most dreadful anatomical part was his head. It was simple in it design but enough disgusting to made Cade churn and fight off a dry heave: an opening surrounded by crests of pleated skin, opening and closing rhythmically.

'That thing has a fucking anus on his head' Cade thought, petrified by the sight.

The worm opened its 'mouth', emitting a loud and deafening shriek. Specks of organic matter of some sort flew from the gap, blended with what could be described as a fluid akin to a mixture of saliva and catarrh. The expelled matter landed right where Cade was standing. Enough to wake him up and drag him away from the catatonic state he currently was into.

'Somebody just did not chuck down supper properly'

The worm arched its body and tried to reach for the human lying defenceless before him. Cade avoided to be sucked by barrel-rolling to his right. He swiftly reached for his rifle, took the safe away and fired. A salvo of bullets pierced into the skin but the giant critter grew only more angry. He arched his body again and made another try at eating the human in a single gulp. Cade ran away and climbed toward the margin of the crater trying not to lose his equilibrium as the worm's movements made the ground crumble under his feet. He took hold of a grenade from his belt.

'Red is for ugly, fucking disgusting creatures, if I'm not mistaken' he recalled, as his right hand simultaneously lodged the grenade in the launcher fitted under the barrel of the gun and cocked it.

Cade turned towards the worm, which was standing upright trying to anticipate the next move of the human. Instead of running, Cade this time lifted the rifle, aimed at what he thought was the torso and fired.

The grenade flew out of launcher with a thud. It described and arc in the air but the worm dug into the ground again, this time to run away from what he sensed to be a rather alarming threat. The projectile bounced where the cylinder-shaped body curved and exploded meters away. It was enough for the blast to plow away chucks of skins from the worm though, which shrieked once again while sinking into the ground.

The whole crater was the epicentre of an earthquake as the critter made its way back to the surface. Cade frantically reloaded a second blast grenade into the launcher.

The worm emerged feet away from where he stood. As soon as the grenade clicked into the launcher he was thrown up in the air again. He clinched at his rifle as it was his most prized possession. Right there, it was indeed.

He landed violently on his belly. Cade sprouted sand from his mouth as he tried to catch breath. A feral cry came from the worm as he descended on his prey, its surreal gap in the head on a collision course towards the human. Cade aimed with his rifle lifting just his right arm. Without any concern for the side effects of a grenade exploding inches away from his flesh, he fired.

Only metres separated Cade from the mouth of the critter. The explosion engulfed both of them. Cade stood there, watching the head of the critter catching fire as rags of skin and organic matter separated from the main body. Although in evident distress, the worm was far from giving up. It cried again, and then again.

Cade could not hear it, tough.

The explosion felt like a hammer swung against his eardrum. It was like someone had stuffed his skull with dabs of cotton. Just a feeble whistle made its way through the temporary deafness. Moreover Cade felt his brain was spinning around like a compass gone mad. But all it took to regain the sense of when and where was to take a look at his arm.

Cade cried again in pain and, honestly, terror.

The rifle had opened up, the outer half away from the trigger melted and twisted beyond recognition. The stock was smoked and it seemed like it had permanently melted with the hand. The latter itself was clad in red and black, with blood and gushing wounds running from the palm to the forearm. By some fortunate stroke of good luck Cade felt he could still sense and move his fingers but the wrist was stiff and bloated. His right upper limb was a kind of a mess but it was eventually intact.

But now he was utterly defenceless.

And the effect of the adrenaline was wearing down.

Salvos of pain began to make their way up to the shoulder, more and more intense.

He was about to pass out.

The worm felt like he could not let go of the miserable, tiny human who had dared to make a stand against it. So it raised itself like an enchanted reptile dancing to the tune of a snake charmer and prepared to deal the final blow, flames on his skin slowly dying out.

For some kind of reason Cade did not experience the things he was told would have happened right before the departure. No clips about his past life were playing before his eyes. He felt a burst of sadness

'Damn it. That's not how I meant it to be…'

 _Well, then tell me how you meant it to be_

'I don't know' Cade replied, without even questioning to whom. Or why he was hearing that voice in the first place

 _Then don't question it. Life is strange, you should know that…_

'That's too much of a strange life'

 _Don't be such a wuss. I bet you're having the time of your life._

'I actually had fun… That's what I deserved, after all, don't I?'  
 _You still have lost of things to do._

 _Keep up the good work, Cade._

 _Oh… I'm proud of you by the way._

 _I thought you might appreciate that…_

'She's right' Cade thought. But who was it? And why 'she'?

And why had not the worm swallowed him already?

Maybe because it was lying next to him, slashed in half?

And what was the sound he was hearing? A loud, flapping, vibrating sound, rhythmically beating against the air?

The recovery team dispatched to the impact site was made up of three helicopters. They were flying at full speed in a three-ship delta formation. The one in the centre was bigger and was the one tasked with physically taking the object back to the Advanced Base.

The other two carried the support team and were also heavily armed in order to act as an armed escort.

The co-pilot in the helicopter at the right side of the formation dabbled with the head-up display

"There's a lot of commotion near our target"

"What do you mean?" the pilot asked with concern

"The infrared shows to elements near the impact site, one way bigger than the other… and moving"

The pilot relayed the information to the Advanced Base

"AB this is Talon 1. Do you copy our readings?"

"Roger Talon 1. Detach and take point, see what's happening and take action if necessary"

"Is it safe to fly into the cloud?" the pilot enquired

"I would not be that sure, Talon 1. Try to fly at an altitude high enough not to have your instruments jammed. And eventually, insert the team at a reasonable distance" the Advanced Base operator replied

"Roger" the pilot switched channel and contacted the other two choppers "Talon squadron stand by. Talon 1 detaches and scouts ahead. Wait form my clearance to proceed"

The two other choppers turned away and began flying in a circular stand-by pattern while Talon 1 engines roared as it increased its speed towards the target.

The co-pilot turned and shouted to the men behind him

"Situation is probably already hot down there. Get your boys ready sergeant, we are going to dance early than expected!"

"Got that" a man with a grey uniform and the sergeant chevrons stood up

"Ready to land in one minute" he shouted to the platoon of soldiers sharing the room of the passenger compartment of the helicopter "Check guns and stuff and prepare yourself for the worst!"

"YESSIR!" the platoon responded altogether. Every soldier was wearing a protective combat suit, purposefully designed to withstand, albeit for a short time, the effect of Mako radiation. They all proceeded to load and quickly inspect their weapon. A soldier assembled a portable rocket launcher

"Hudson, that thing will probably come in handy so treat it like a puppy!" the sergeant ordered the soldier

"I'll treat it like my girl, Sir!" the private replied, lodging a grenade inside the tube

"We have report that probably one of our men is already down there so watch out for collateral damages" the pilot warned in the intercom

"What about the environmental issues?" the sergeant asked

"We'll try to keep at a safe distance…"

"FUCKING HELL, WHAT IS THAT?" the co-pilot cried

The pilot did not even open his mouth as he turned onwards and saw the worm in the magnifying device on the head-up display. Training kicked in and in less than two second an air to ground missile was trailing smoke head on towards what looked like a trembling column in the distance. The impact occurred instants later and slashed in half the very worm Cade was trying to fend off.

"What happened? What did you see?" the sergeant frantically asked

"Sarg!" the pilot cold-bloodedly replied "Get your men down there and secure the area. Just pray we are not too late. I would hate to turn this chopper into a coffin hearse"

"Medic team, get off first!" the sergeant shouted "Martinez, take the machine gun, I want this bird to watch on us while we will be on the ground"

"Bear in mind that we won't able to come any closer than that to the target point, the cloud is a sort of no-fly zone for us"

"Do what you can do!"

The pilot nodded "Talon 1 to AB. We have contact with a hostile, but probably is just a critter"

"Is the recovery team on the ground yet?" the reply from the Advanced Base came

"Not yet, the area is not secure"

"Roger Talon 1. I'll leave this to your judgement. Once the drop point is safe call in the rest of the team and commence recovery operation"

"Talon 1, roger!" the pilot talked back as he cut communication

"Do you think we'll need the backup team?" the co-pilot asked him, after he closed the radio

"Don't think so" the pilot replied "I just hope I haven't hit our man down there…"

"Better smoked than eaten!" the co-pilot mused, much to the pilot approval

The chopper began to descend as the infantrymen picked up their rifles. Once on the ground, the sergeant exchanged a few words with his second-in-command, taking point towards the crater with the medics right after him. The platoon split into two sections, each taking one side of the trail towards the object. The helicopter took off and flew around over the pack of soldiers moving forward.

Cade woke up thinking he would have found himself in a meadow surrounded by a heavenly light. This was at least his personal impression of what the Lifestream must have looked like.

'It wouldn't be that bad to visit the hereafter' he thought to himself

His mind paused as he recollected the faces of the people he would have found waiting for him there

That last thought came with a shiver that made him open his eyes. A flash of light pierced through the opening eyelids

'Heaven at last' he concluded 'Strange, though. I've always felt like it would have been sadder…'

On the contrary, he found himself staring at a grey panel dotted with lights going on and off and with the same sound in the background he heard before passing out, only louder and more clear

'Passing out?'

The last thing he remembered now was that he was battling a giant worm in the middle of the desert and that a grenade from his rifle had nearly reduced his right upper limb to a meatball. He opened his eyes wide once and for all.

He felt a tip of motion sickness once he started checking the surroundings. He immediately recognised them as the interior of a UH-40 helicopter, standard aircraft inventory of the World Regenesis Organization.

So the recovery team had arrived, had somehow disposed the worm of and rescued him. Talking about good timing!

'No Lifestream eventually, eh?' he thought with a hint of relief 'Maybe next time…'

He tried to sit up but the back sent a shard of pain as a protest he groaned. The soldiers in the loading bay of the chopper lifted their head and stared at him

"He's alive" remarked one

"Thank the Gods!" another one sighed

"We could have kissed our asses goodbye if we had brought back a corpse!"

Cade took away the thick blanket the medic had placed upon him. Most of the clothes had been removed. Bruises covered his muscular torso here and there. They were fresh, unlike the scars of which he remembered position and the circumstances where and when he got them.

He rushed to his right arm. White bandages covered the forearm and the palm and back of the hand. An IV drip of some sort made its way into the layers of gauzes ending near the wrist. Stains of blood dotted the candid wrappings.

"What happened?" Cade asked, trying to be heard over the muffled sound of the helicopter rotor

A young soldier filling out a form turned down the ledger and swiftly took his place next to him

"Sir" he explained "We found you unconscious near the crater. You're safe now"

"Wait a second" Cade interrupted him "I was battling a freaking desert monster…"

"Oh, the worm, Sir" the medic recalled "The pilot took care of it with a well placed shot before it could do any more harm to you"

Upon those words, Cade finally claimed his spot in the world of the living ones

"What about my arm?" he enquired, lifting his wounded limb

"Let it rest Sir" the medic warned "It doesn't seem that anything is broken but I have made a request for further exams once we land"

"Wise choice" Cade pondered, sinking again in the gurney and pulling the blanket back on himself. The interiors of the chopper where chilling indeed

'My beloved rifle is gone, I suppose' he thought to himself 'Well, that stuff is replaceable'

"So" Cade continued "I'm alive, and safe. This can be considered good… I suppose!"

"Yes Sir" a voice behind him replied. Cade turned his head behind towards the sergeant, who rushed in front of him "Me and my men have supervised the recovery operation. Right now the object is being taken back at the base. The mission…" he paused, taking a fierce stance "… has been a success!"

"The only thing is" the medic continued with a grin "our scientific officer was shocked by the dimension of that thing" He laughed "We had to convince him that time was tight, otherwise he would have stayed there and appraise that abomination"

"Or begged 'til death to bring that fucking stinking carcass with us…" the sergeant cackled, only to regain composure immediately and produce a salute "Anyway, sergeant Inroy at orders, Lieutenant Tuesti!"

Upon hearing his surname and rank, Cade realized he had nearly forgot he was actually a Lieutenant in the powerful and respected World Regenesis Organization. Albeit a well-trained and disciplined soldier and officer, Cade always thought that protocols, honorifics and such had the adverse affect of hindering the effectiveness of a troop. That's why he preferred straight talks to some sense-less chatters. He also liked to act out of the textbooks at time. He thought that by doing so he could distance himself less from his subordinates. He also thought that by acting like a hothead would make people forget about his surname…

"Oh, at ease sergeant Inroy" Cade lazily ordered with a placid smile on his face "I really owe you my life, to you and your men. You did a great job out there"

The soldiers on their seat straightened up once they heard themselves being mentioned. The sergeant reverted back to a more relaxed pose and cleared his throat

"Lieutenant Cambers deserves to be thanked as well" Inroy explained , pointing at the pilot's seat "He fired the missile that physically saved you, Sir"

"I see" Cade arched his back and turned towards the cockpit, under the watchful eye of the medic "Thank you, Lieutenant. It wasn't an easy shot at all" he shouted

The cranked voice of the pilot blared from a loudspeaker in the loading bay

"That's what we are trained for" Cambers replied "I wish you a full and quick recovery, Sir"

"Speaking of which" the medic intervened "I must tell you that the doctors on the ground will not limit themselves to check your arm…"

Cade grew a confused expression on his face "What do you mean?"

"Mako" the medic simply replied. Cade understood

"So they will run tests and stuff all because I stood so close to that chunk, isn't it?"

"Well Sir, the effect of Mako radiation are not entirely known to us. The Geostigma scenario was somehow piloted so it was a one-off case. But, speaking frankly, we expect adverse effects as a side result from close exposure…"

"Well, that's not my case" Cade shrugged "I'm perfectly fine, apart from a few bumps and bruises. And besides, I stood there for… how long?"

"Fifteen to twenty minutes, sir" the medic explained

"What's your name and rank, medic?" Cade asked

"Oh, master sergeant Paulus, Sir!"

"Paulus what?"

The medic briefly paused "Harry"

"Listen Harry, I'm a very busy man" Cade explained "I'll get my forearm and wrist and whatever else checked, because a good look from a doctor is quite due, I think" he continued "But all that Mako stuff and adverse reaction and you go on, to me is quite just overkill…"

The medic stood there in silence

"I'll check in to a doctor if anything strange happens. I promise. But the last thing that I want is being leashed to a team of expert probing every recess of my body only to find that I have my blood pressure a bit higher than usual" Cade finished with a smile

"Oh, well" Paulus nervously replied, feeling himself between a rock and a hard place "You should explain your point of view to the doctors at the medical facility then. My only concern is that you get these words…"

"Harry, no bother. I'll handle this by myself. And yes, I will make my point clear " Cade assured him

The medic closed the ledger and made a gesture as to add something else but Cade cut him short

"Sergeant Paulus, ever fancied a slot at the Officer Examination Course?" he asked, raising an eyebrow

Paulus lowered his head and returned to his papers. He was keen on that prospect. Given Lieutenant Tuesti's connection, it would have been wiser to drop the matter at once, then

"We are about to land, prepare to disembark!" Sergeant Inroy shouted

While the helicopter was slowly descending towards the helipad,Cade began to conjure the speeches he would have given the medical team and his superiors. All he wanted was to get down that stretcher , being treated and get briefed on his following assignment.

In short, he wanted to get back in action.

Cade had to threaten the helpless Sergeant Paulus to personally demote him if he did not let him get off the helicopter by himself, instead of being spirited to the hospital tent on the stretcher. He grabbed some clothes and, with the help of a couple of soldiers, who enthusiastically volunteered for the effort, he got dressed as best as he could.

Once the choppers had treaded their landing gears on their respective helipads, a swarm of technicians and security personnel encroached on the area. Cade took the chance to sneak through the mass of men and women clad in the black and grey uniform of the WRO and headed straight to the tent marked by the red cross emblem. Nobody paid attention to him, save for the known faces he stumbled upon who gave him a quick salute and a surprised look once the bandages and the sling around his right arm caught visibility. Everyone was eventually rushing for the artefact retrieved from the desert.

The Advanced Base was a camp made up of several tents arranged inside a quadrangular perimeter. One of the corners hosted the landing zone and the storage and maintenance facilities for the helicopters. The hospital lied right at the centre of the base, next to the command post. Cade made his way out of the landing area and turned into an alley between two tents.

The base was bustling with activity and members of the WRO were running to and fro. Yet in the intricate mess of people carrying out their task, someone raised his hand once he caught vision of Cade

"Over here! I know a shortcut to the hospital"

Cade turned towards the voice, the same he had heard in the radio while out there in the desert. His eyes encountered a mountain-like man, with large shoulder and short blonde hair. He was wearing a fatigue that broke every rule in the WRO manual about uniform. That and the cigarette in his mouth.

Cade shook his head, smiling in amazement.

"You know" he exclaimed "I would not believe it if I didn't see it with my own eyes…!"

The man known by the name of Cid Highwind laughed deep and loud

"Oh, boy, Cade" he said "Sure people like you are welcomed here. It's all nerds and officers with broomsticks in their asses…"

Cid hugged Cade, who groaned as his wounded arm slid between them

"Watch out, Cid" he warned "I'm tough, but an almost broken arm is an almost broken arm!"

"Jeez, don't wine already" Cid protested "It's just a scratch. People with broken arms would be crying and pissing in their pants by now. And you are not doing either of them…"

"Back to the Cid-esque register I see" Cade observed

"And it feel so damn good!" Cid replied

"Honestly" Cade said, changing the subject of their conversation "I didn't expect you to be here at all, actually. The retrieval of that thing must be really important then"

Cid took a breath from his cigarette. Although resembling an extra-large version of a workshop owner, Cid Highwind was nonetheless the chief technician officer of the WRO, personally appointed by its figurehead to take care of all the aspects relative to the newest and oldest technologies which aided the organization and its personnel. Behind the ever grumpy attitude, an extraordinary crafty brain had its gears in semi-permanent motion

"It was a last minute call" he confirmed "I came here when you were already out in the desert. But at last I managed to have the chance to hear from you on the radio: I thought a familiar voice could help you fend off homesickness out there in that frigging sandbox"

Cade laughed

"That's so nice of you, Cid"

"Don't thank me" Cid shook his head "Your old man was not too enthusiast of having you all alone out there. He nearly passed out when he heard of the accident…" he laughed

Cade felt a strange fit upon those words

"I guess I should pay him a visit after my check-up…" he pondered

"Sure you'll have to" Cid told him "Besides Reeve told me a briefing is about to start in a few minutes. If you care to join us…"

"Do I have any alternatives?" Cade asked

"I hope that was a… what's called? Rethrical question?"

"Rhetorical" Cade corrected him

Cid grumped, throwing his half smoked cigarette away

"Things seemed to be quite alright… first Jenova, then the Geostigma Crisis and finally the Deepground incident. Yesterday the goddamn world seemed to be a safe place, more or less but now this screw-up!" the blonde-haired man sighed, shaking his head

"What do you mean?" Cade questioned. Seldom Cid sounded so quietly worried about the happenings of the world

"What I meant, that's all" Cid replied "Be at the briefing and you'll know better"

"Guess I really don't have options, then…" Cade sighed

"Look, it may sound strange, that being said by me but… do things by the book, every now and then. Maybe it will be easier to find your place in the world!"

Cade bowed his head, as Cid's word were being processed in his mind. Surely the technician meant to express something deep. In his own way, at least

"Did it worked for you?" he asked

"It sure worked" Cid told him smiling, making him way inside the medical facility "That's why it is strange!"

Cade giggled as he stepped through the door leading into the medical facility.

The staff did extraordinarily quick examining his forearm. They found out that none of the bones were shattered. The wounds had pretty much closed but the wrist had suffered quite a concussion. They resolved to get a mobile stiff bandage, as Cade was pressing to have something that would not give him too much constraint. Eventually, the doctor gave in to the young officer begging and a compromise was reached.

"Well" the doctor exclaimed, a middle-aged yet energetic guy, with a well-shaped figure and grey buzz-cut hair "that is not an extraordinary case. I've treated lost of ailments due to discharging weapons but the most amazing thing is that the explosion left the arm pretty much intact. And all the wounds have healed in virtually no time"

"Guess I've got a though skin…" Cade smiled

"I wouldn't be too much sure of that" the doctor shook his head . From his swift and straightforward manners, Cade could tell that doctor had had a past as a battlefield medic, seeing everything war reserved for the human body "There's a more direct explanation for that"

Cade looked right into the doctor's eyes

"And that would be…" the doctor continued

"Mako" Cade finished, as he felt a lump lodging in his throat

"Right, and that would bring us to the second part of our examination… if you don't mind"

Cade paused

"By the book" he whispered, as he recalled Cid's words

"Excuse me?" the doctor asked

"Nothing" Cade shook his head "Do your job" he invited

"Good" the doctor smiled "So we will need a blood sample, first. Plus I'm going to ask you some questions…"

"And?" Cade probed

"And for now that is all" the doctor simply answered "The blood test will do. Maybe a follow up in Edge, at the Central Headquarter Clinic will tell us whether are risking your life or not…"

"What?" Cade sprung up from his seat

"Calm down" the doctor assured him "Five or six years ago people would accidentally came across a small sample of Mako and develop a radiation sickness syndrome, or something closely resembling it. But now, for some reason, we grew more tolerant of it…"

"I heard it must have been because of the Meteor and the fact that now Mako is still floating in the atmosphere" Cade guessed, picking up the information from the scientific papers he had stumbled upon in the past. Yet he could not wipe away from his head the thought that he was a potential victim of Mako poisoning. He had met people who were on the terminal stage of the sickness, and they did not look good. But those people he saw belonged to a place where visiting a doctor wasn't as easy as anywhere else in the civilized world

"That's the most accredited hypothesis" the doctor confirmed "A natural tolerance, they call it" He began set up a small syringe. He thrust it into Cade's left arm and his blood came squirming into the cylinder. Cade squinted as he twice felt a pinch, when the syringe stung him and when it left his body. He took a diversionary look around at the surroundings: the medical facility was a white, pristine and clean environment. Furniture was basic but it was crammed with loads of instruments, neatly disposed. Everything was in its place and not a spot on a single square inch of the surface

The doctor strapped a dab of cotton over the hole in the elbow pit

"Anyway, Mako poisoning effects can be different from person to person. I may say, albeit with all necessary caution, that Mako is behind your astounding recovery, and maybe even behind the fact that a worm usually one metre long was as big as a hover-bus…"

Cade felt anxiety growing inside him. Maybe getting so close to the object was not a good idea

"Well, I admit it was strange at first sight, but I did not really thought about the Mako connection when I saw that thing…" he said, concealing his state of mind

"It was not really the case, I suppose. At least when a giant man-eating creature is chasing you down. I'd warmly suggest to stay away from anything green in the future, vegetables excluded, of course" the doctor smiled

"Guess you are right!" Cade laughed, appreciating the doctor's sense of humour. At least his attempt at it

"But, wait a second! Does that mean that I'm dismissed?" he rushed to ask

"I'm not withholding you any longer" the doctor explained "We need all our best men in action and, even if it's not really my line of thought, if someone seems healthy, he's good to go"

"I see…" Cade said, barely hiding his relief at the thought of not having to waste any more time, forgetting all the qualms about the Mako issue

"All I can tell you, as my final note, is to report to a medical officer or to a doctor in general anything suspicious. And by that, I mean everything"

Cade felt a load on his stomach "I'll do!" he assured, before stepping out of the clinic.

The excitement Cade felt before trespassing the threshold of the field hospital was overshadowed by the words of the doctor as he took his clothes back and greeted him. He rushed to chase away the bad feelings emerging in his mind and stepped finally outside, assuring himself that if he was still able to walk and talk as usual after all he had gone through in the past hours he was probably better than ever.

Cid and Cade were on their way to the command post, a two story container housing the commander of the expeditionary task force and the briefing rooms, as well as the main communications facility.

As they reached for the entrance Cid spoke up

"How was the visit?"

"Everything good, I suppose" Cade answered

Cid grumped

"Something wrong?" Cade asked

"Some time ago" Cid told him "A friend of mine plunged in the Lifestream. He got poisoned through to through. When we recovered him, he was more dead than alive"

Cade stopped in the middle of the opening in front of the command post "What do you mean?"

"Nothing" Cid shook his head "Just… be careful"

"Listen to that" Cade smiled, alarmed and amazed by Cid's concern "Anyway, I'm always careful"

"I know" Cid put a hand on his shoulder "Then keep being careful"

"What's your point, Cid?" Cade poked him

"You got that already" Cid reached for a cigarette, as to cut the conversation short

"Well, whatever…"

A thunderous voice broke through their conversation

"Tuesti! Prancing around with your personal bodyguard now?"

The voice was neither friendly nor joking. Cade sighed as he turned towards the man who had caught his attention, even if he already knew who it was

"Brad!" Cade shouted back "I'm glad the WRO Special Allocation Program is still effective as of today!"

The man by the name of Brad, Brad Clawbourne for the records, a tall, bulky man, almost a foot taller than Cade but two feet shorter than Cid, sporting a regular WRO uniform, frowned upon Cade's reply

"Oh no!" Cid quietly protested "Not again…"

"What do you mean, Tuesti?" Brad angrily asked

"I mean" Cade stood towards him, stepping forward "That normally people like you would be still in the nursery. But, surprise surprise, there you are…"

One of the soldiers behind Brad laughed. Brad turned towards him and gave him a menacing look. The laughter died as the man re-focused his attention to Cade just as the rest of the gang trailing behind him

"And what about you Cade?" Brad asked "Nice move you pulled out there in the desert. Guess you would do fine even without being the boss' kid"

"You've got issues Brad" Cade said, trying to dismiss his provocation "Why don't you just do your job, just like everyone else?"

Brad made a step forward. And then another one.

"Oh, you know Tuesti? Saving the world from weird people and stuff like that is quite exhausting. We need to take the piss out of each other every now and then. Hope you don't mind that" Brad grinned.

Meanwhile a cluster of people had momentarily forgot their duties and stopped by to witness the confrontation. Brad Clawbourne sure was what a teacher would have labelled as a troublesome element of the classroom. He was the son of a WRO high-ranking official who had used his charisma to attract an ensemble of people as troublesome as he was. When Brad began taunting someone, it meant trouble

"I see" Cade responded, pretending to sound sympathetic "But why me, out of all the thousands of souls in our beloved Organization?"

"Oh, come on… what's a better prey than the beloved puppy of our boss?" Brad laughed "The one who sleeps right next to him when everyone else freezes his ass out here?"

Cade clinched his fists. A muffled laughter came from Brad's posse

"Don't do that, kid!" Cid warned him

"Aren't you a puppy yourself, Brad?" Cade retorted, angrily

Brad stopped, almost seemingly being caught wrong-footed

"And besides" Brad carried on his tirade, seemingly untouched by Cade's line "I have a thing for tortured guys picked up by wealthy men who have to make up for the destruction of their own hometowns… tear jerking as fuck I'd say… or should we mention that poor girl of yours…"

Brad laughed, without even finishing his own words. His laughter resonated with the laughs of his gang. If he hadn't, he would have noticed Cid swearing and failing to hold reins of Cade, which was now running towards him. And would have noticed the fact that the people that were moments ago beside him and laughing were now staring in awe and had now stepped aside to avoid being caught in the confrontation, which was just about to turn physical.

Cade's body forgot about the wounds in his right arm. He swung a jab right into Brad groins. The motor-mouthed jock bent forward as the punch in his genitalia sucked the air outside his lungs. As he touched the ground on his knees Cade followed with a straight punch on his face, throwing him back feet in the air. He jumped on his chest as to pin him down

"Not bad for an orphan, right Brad?" he shouted

Brad spit on his opponent's uniform and slapped him down with an open hand. Cade was hurled on the ground, and Brad jumped back on his feet.

"You're going to pay for this, Tuesti!" he angrily shouted "Fuck you and whoever shares your fucking blood with you!"

Even more people had clustered around the fight. Cid was ready to intervene had the brawl further escalated. He still had some faith in the good sense of the boy. But, unfortunately, that Brad was a first class brawler and a professional provocateur. And, most seriously of it all, he was currently holding the advantage of the higher ground.

Brad closed in to Cade and kicked him sideway. The man on the ground cried as the kick got hit his wounded forearm as well

"You dare to fuck with me, Tuesti? Well, that's what's going to happen… "Brad shouted as he repeatedly kicked Cade in the ribs

"Maybe you should stick to your place…" Brad continued as he repeatedly kicked the boy on the ground

"And by that I mean the place where you came from…" he further shouted

'That asshole is going to split open his rib cage' Cid though as he resolved to step in and separate the two. He had just leapt towards them and something happened.

Cade collected as much oxygen as he could in the gap between one kick and the next one. When Brad's foot descended yet again upon him, he grasped it with both hands, and twisted it.

Cid was sure he heard a cracking sound as Brad's feet turned into and unnatural angle.

Brad screamed and collapsed to the ground. All his haughtiness had gone away and now he looked like a child who had been beaten up by a high school bully. He grinned his teeth in suffering and disbelief as he managed to hold the cry of pain. Some of the people who had gathered to watch the confrontation rushed to help him. He fended them away but afterward he surrendered to their concern.

Cade stood up, brushing off the dirt from his sleeves.

Cid walked up to him

"My god, kid" he exclaimed "what have you done?"

"Nice one, uh?" Cade grinned

"You're not going to get away so easily this time, Tuesti!" Brad shouted, trying to pull himself up, aided by some colleagues.

"Why don't you ask for a rematch, dick-head?" Cade replied

"How about no?" a thunderous voice penetrated the atmosphere. Everyone turned around and stood to attention. Except Brad of course.

"Colonel Zansteid!" Cid exclaimed, standing to attention

"Colonel!" Cade meekly followed suit

"At ease, people!" Colonel Hawk Zansteid replied "Except you Tuesti! We've got some talk to do!"

Hawk Zansteid, a man in his forties, quite tall and heavily muscular, but with the gleaming and assuring light of the leader and true wise old man in his eyes, turned to the mass of WRO personnel on the square. Everyone marvelled at the presence right there of the aide-de-camp of the WRO director.

"Everyone not scheduled to take part in the meeting at the Command Centre, back to your assignments. NOW!" he shouted. The crowd partly dispersed. He stood right in front of Cade

"Lieutenant Tuesti! As I told you, we're going to talk"

"Yes, sir!" Cade replied, deadpan

"Right after the briefing!" Zansteid continued

"Yes, sir!" Cade replied again

Zansteid walked inside the command centre

"You really fucked it up this time, kid…" Cid sighed

"Who cares?" Cade shrugged

"Seriously?" Cid exclaimed "The second big head of WRO is going to lit your ass on fire and you think your life is going to be the same as yesterday?"

Cade shrugged again "What am I supposed to do?"

"Behave yourself every now and then… play by the book" Cid remarked

"Go tell him…" Cade pointed to the limping Brad, who was slowly walking away, leaning over an improvised rescuer. Brad was quietly laughing.

"Look Cade" Cid sighed "I respect you, and for real. Not everyone in this world has endured so much as you did, and not everyone managed to get away with it as you did. But sometimes in this world, it's not just about ourselves…"

"What do you mean with that?" Cade asked, walking towards the command centre entrance with Cid right along him "I have taken as much as I'm willing to take from retards like that one"

"Hey, I like to punch up a bunch of morons every now and the too, believe me" Cid exclaimed "But we live in a world where we have to think of the people who had helped us, even the ones who did something that we did not even notice because we were too busy dealing with the shit we were swimming into. And you have been helped a lot, Cade… like it or not. And now who do you think is going to pay for what you pulled off right now?"

Cade took a deep breath. Cid words sounded like the ones of a father scolding a bratty kid but he realized that the big, blonde, grumpy man was right. All of a sudden the foolishness of his actions came to him like a tidal wave

"I'm sorry" he sighed, as a part of himself realized the consequences of his faux-pas

Cid gave him a pat on the back "Don't worry. It's all right, for now. Let's not make your old man worry any longer, instead"

"You sounded like he was talking through you, you know?" Cade observed

"I just happen to know him quite a lot" Cid cut short "By the way, didn't it hurt punching his face with that written-off arm?"

"Not at all" Cade replied, marvelling just now at the fact that his limb was not hurting at all. It was actually feeling brand new "Guess I'll take the plaster off completely… after the briefing!"

"Well then" Cid smiled "Guess you really have a hard skin"

"At least I won't have to look trashed in front of him"

Cade chuckled at his own words .

He looked upon and noticed a figure standing at one of the windows of the upper store of the command post. It was tall and wearing a blue suit. The figure looked down on Cade before returning inside.

A shadow briefly passed on Cade's face

"I'm sorry" he whispered again to himself as he stepped in.

The interior of the command centre resembled the one of the medical facility, the only difference being the white was replaced by a hue of green olive drab. It was just as neat, though, with rows and rows of desks and computers and perfectly bundled up wires running on the walls in perfectly aligned encasements. White neon lights hanged on steel beams shed radiance in the rooms.

The buzzing of the machines was tangled with the clicking sound of the keyboards and the beeps from the processing units, as well as the chattering voices of the operators sitting at their respective stations.

An aide showed the way to the officers and personnel summoned to the briefing, leading them to the quarter where meetings were held sneaking through the passages provided around the workstations.

Once in the briefing room, everyone sat as Colonel Zansteid took a stand next to a screen, showing a daunting picture of an object apparently freefalling downwards and leaving a stark, bright trail behind it

"Now we'll know what you almost got yourself killed for" Cid said, taking a seat next to Cade

"That's something interesting indeed…" he agreed

"At ease, people!" Zansteid began his speech "I'm not going to waste words because I don't want to waste time. Major Groundham, our scientific advisor, is going to detail you over our most recent discovery and what it means for the world, and for us. Major!"

A young man from the back of the room walked towards the front. He exchanged a brief salute and traded places with Zansteid

"This picture was taken by the WRO Stellar Observatory at Cosmo Canyon. Although in black and white, the spectrographic analysis of the falling object revealed an active wavelength comparable to the one emitted by the sources of Mako energy here on Gaia. The question is: why has a solid body of Mako, because that's what it is gentlemen, fallen from the sky?"

The picture on the screen was replaced by a diagram of Mako readings

"According to the surveys carried out by the WRO during the last years, the Mako levels in the atmosphere after the Meteorfall events have subsided. Then someone came up with a very bright idea: why don't we probe the upper levels of the atmosphere as well? We did it, and well… the result revealed that for a couple of years we had Mako reaching the exosphere without being noticed. It wasn't entirely our fault if we didn't discover it first, of course, since the Deepground Conflict forced us to focus our attention elsewhere"

The diagram was replaced by a plot of orbits around the sun, with some points marked out clearly. Cade kept paying attention at Groundham's words in strict silence, much like anyone else in the room

"With the world apparently calming down again, we were able to resume our surveys. And we have discovered something peculiar. All the Mako that has left the atmosphere is slowly but inevitably converging in a precise point somewhere beyond the Moon's orbit. We have already lost contact with a great number of geostationary satellites placed in that sector. That means that the Mako cloud in outer space is rapidly expanding and is active and…"

The plot was replaced by some sort of reading Cade couldn't decipher

"…it's reaching the point at which it will reach something resembling a critical mass. This phenomenon has been theorized by our scientist but still they can't understand why it is happening. Maybe we are oblivious to its nature because our knowledge of the Mako energy is pretty much the same as thirty years ago. In other word the cloud, as we may call it, will solidify into a big chunk of Mako, like the one that we have retrieved just hours ag,o and collapse opening a black hole right next to our beloved planet"

The audience murmured

"Fuck, this is serious" Cade quietly exclaimed "albeit I've managed to understand only half of it"

"That explains how serious it is" Cid poked fun at him

"Yeah, yeah" Cade scoffed "fuck you too"

"Quit it now" Cid silenced him, not without a grin

"This is what we know at the moment" the advisor continued "It's not much but further analysis are being conducted on the specimen retrieved in the desert. We have already assayed its potential in terms of side effects on animals…"

Cade felt as if he was about to catch fire. The idea that his name could pop up right in the middle of the briefing, telling the tale on how he had been so close to the Mako fragment, haunted him. In a matter of seconds everyone would have thought that Cade Tuesti was plagued by Mako radiation and therefore he had to be treated as a pariah, isolated and quarantined. But, thank the Creator, the medical staff and the retrieval team had ignored or were ordered to silence that detail. Cade didn't have to think too hard to imagine who was behind the concealment of that information.

"… and we are elaborating and planning a contingency plan. And this is the scientific side of the matter. I surmise every one of you knows what a black hole is. If not read a book or browse the network, gentlemen. Now let me please take your attention on the side of the issue that perhaps affects you the most…"

The image on the screen changed again. Now it showed what Cade thought it was the charred remnants of a truck with the WRO badge still recognisable on its side. The apparition of the image struck a responsive chord in the audience

"This picture was taken on the road linking Fort Corel to Junon, just yesterday. It is the last assault on a WRO convoy in a series of similar episode that begun just last week. As you can tell we have, as WRO leadership, withheld as much info as possible about these attacks so as not to spread rumours before we could verify who was behind those aggressions. Our contingency plans require materiel being shuttled and gathered at specific locations around the globe. Any attack or subtraction of said materiel hampers our efforts towards the containment of the situation at hand"

Colonel Zansteid took the place of the scientific advisor as the image was swiped. A logo made up of a slanted, down-pointing arrow crossed with a lightening appeared. The picture was again in black and white and appeared to have been drabbled with a spray painter over a wall

"The MPM: Meteor Purification Movement. A semi-religious sect still anchored to the events of the Meteorfall. We still don't know who are their leaders or where they are headquartered. We don't even know what is their manifesto, provided they have one. We have only been able to witness their recent spat of attacks on WRO proprieties and installations, which up to now have caused, fortunately for us, little damage. Yet if said attacks should grow in intensity, you realize we'll have to face two sides of the same problem: a black hole literally next door and a group of fanatics which will use brute force to make it happen, apparently. And the Creator only knows the reason behind it"

Cade focused on the logo. It was simple yet haunting. It would have been easy to mistake it for the kind of graffiti one would have had the chance to see sprayed on the trains in Edge

"So, as a final note, I urge each and every one of you to be extremely vigilant, and to report anything suspicious to you supervisor. We have trusted you with our confidence and faith for this challenge the world is going to face yet again. The people of Gaia are counting on us. Don't let them down!"

"I'm moved" Cid sarcastically remarked.

Cade poked him in the ribs with the elbow.

The audience stood silent

"Questions?" Zansteid asked

Nobody raised his or her arm

"Good. You are all dismissed. We are ready to scrap this base in the desert once instructed to do so. Go back to your bunks and wait for your next assignment to be sent to your PHS. Gentlemen, dismissed!"

The officers stood up and saluted before breaking their ranks

"Tuesti!" Zansteid shouted "Up there in one minute!" he said pointing to the second story of the building

"Yes, sir" Cade replied

Someone pushed him from behind. It was Brad.

"I'm going to sleep well tonight, Tuesti" he grinned, negotiating with his aching feet. Oddly enough, the harmed appendage was without any kind of orthopaedic garment, only the crutch to aid his walk. Brad was equally as tough, Cade considered

"I hope you're going to get bustled up there. Even if people like you wouldn't go to jail even if they had killed their parents… Ops!" he put his hand on his mouth, as to pretend to regret he had just said something upsetting.

Cade launched a reassuring look at Cid as if to say 'I'm not going to put up a fight here in front of the Colonel. I'm impulsive, but not dumb'

"Too bad I won't sleep so soundly tonight, Brad" Cade replied instead "You gave me a pretty hard-on being so close to me! I'll have to jack-off all night long to quash my longing for you"

Brad lost his haughty expression on his face. A laughter came from behind. Cade turned, as Brad walked away grumping helping himself with the crutch.

"I don't care if he is the son of the regent of Wutai, as far what I care" the girl who had just laughed told Cade "Some things have to be done. And I'm glad you did it, Cade"

Cade smiled to the girl. He knew her. Kayla was a biologistclosely following the works of the team of experts researching the Mako anomalies in the atmosphere. She was a year older than Cade and her face had firm yet harmonious lineaments. Cade had fell for her quite a few times but had resolved not to push his feelings too far. They were on good terms. His worst fear, though, was that Kayla had kept harbouring a crush on him and the last thing Cade wanted was a relationship on the workplace. Or perhaps, a relationship at all.

"You're most definitely right, Kayla" Cade replied "but I can assure you I came to regret my actions quite immediately"

Kayla smiled "I can easily understand why" She put a hand on Cade shoulder "Don't worry. Everything will be fine eventually"

"Thank you!" Cade said

"Well" Kayla sighed, after a brief pause "Guess I have to move. As far as I've heard we are getting some time off after this nice trip in the desert. Maybe, if you want, we can catch up in Edge…" she timidly offered

"Oh, well" Cade blushed "I'd like to really. But I have things to settle down on my own so I don't think I'll have time to spare…"

Kayla lowered her head. "Oh, I see… maybe next time"

"Sure" Cade replied

"I'll go then. Be strong Cade" Kayla smiled, before turning away swinging her blonde braided hairs behind her

"Fucking pitiful!" Cid sadly commented

"What?" Cade protested

"We just came to know he world is about to end and you allow yourself to turn down a chick like that? That practically throws herself at your feet?"

"I'm not in a mood for relationships" Cade explained

"Well, it doesn't need to be a fully-committed relationship you know?" Cid offered

"Sorry? I heard the married guy talking…" Cade joked, as he proceeded towards the stairs to the second floor of the building

"Ah, damn it, Cade. What's wrong with you? Hey, are you not… you know… kicking with the other foot?"

"What? Are you serious?" Cade exclaimed, baffled "I mean, nothing against it and all the rest, but I can tell you it's not the case"

"Then I don't know what's the matter with you, jeez! Everyone I know is engaged except you…"

"Hey!" Cade protested "It doesn't have to be a goddamn race!"

"I know, I know… just saying" Cid surrendered

Cade reached the bottom of the stairs. He looked up in anticipation of what he would have heard in the secluded office on the second floor.

"Well" he sighed "Let's do this"

"I'm packing the stuff onto the Highwind" Cid explained "If you need a ride anywhere they tell you to go, count on me"

Cade gratefully smiled "Thank you Cid"

The bulky pilot waived his hand and walked outside, lighting his next cigarette.

Cade had reached the second floor of the building. Two guards stood next to a bullet-proof door. A third guard, with the ranks of a captain and a fourragiere denoting his appointment as a member of the staff of the aide-de-camp of the chief of the WRO stood up from his desk. Cade saluted

"At ease, Lieutenant" he greeted "As far as I've been instructed you are here on invitation from both the boss and Colonel Zansteid"

"Yes, Sir" Cade confirmed

"Well" the captain pointed to the door "You are cleared to proceed then. Take your time"

"Thank you" Cade replied, as the guards stood aside and a click from the door told him that it had been unlocked from the inside. The door slid open, and Cade made its way inside.

The room was faintly illuminated by a lamplight hanged on the roof. An additional source of light was provided by the screen of the computer of the desk where Reeve Tuesti was sitting. That Reeve Tuesti, the very head of the WRO, and uncle to the young Cade. "Cade" Reeve greeted him as the door behind him closed again "I'm happy to see you! And I'm even more happy to see that you are fine!"

"Sir!" Cade saluted standing at attention

Reeve laughed and stood up form his chair. A tall man, slim but not too thin, he shared with his nephew the same black hairs and the same sharp jaw, only with the addition of a goatee

"C'mon Cade" he said "You know I despise formalities even more than you!"

Cade breathed, in relief. His uncle was in a good mood, apparently. Albeit a man known by his firm but kind demeanour, Reeve was once a man who dared to stand against the once-mighty Shinra Corporation by himself and from the inside, a man who just recently managed to quell the threat of the Deepground organisation. An angered Reeve Tuesti was able to grow claws in an instant.

"Well, you are doing good yourself, eam Reeve" Cade replied, allowing himself to use the familiar nickname he would have normally used outside the WRO

"I'm doing good, indeed" Reeve nodded "Saving and protecting the world pulls your ends a bit but it's quite an entertaining job. Why don't you take a seat?"

Cade complied with the invitation and sat opposite the desk. Reeve briefly turned its attention back to the computer before taking back the seat himself

"So… are you hungry? Would you like something to drink?" he asked

Cade suppressed a laughter

"Did I say something wrong, Cade?" Reeve asked, surprised

"No, not at all" Cade smiled "It's just… never mind. I'm fine, really!"

"Good then. I heard some complaints from the canteen today, glad at least someone appreciated the meal today"

Cade blushed, as he recalled the run to the toilet he had made right after lunch

"Look, eam Reeve, I can tell we are all running on a strict schedule so why don't we cut straight to the point?"

Reeve looked at him

"Please?" Cade politely added

"Impatient as always, Cade, eh?" Reeve grew a small of approval "Well then, the head of the recovery team filed a pretty exhaustive report on the operation and I just wanted to see for myself if you were doing all right!"

"Just that?"

"Cade, for me it's not a matter of 'just that'!" he explained, bowing his head. Cade felt like a naked nerve had been touched "You are one of the most valuable elements in the WRO. Of course, sometimes you act on your own and the way you carry out your assignments brings about a hustle. But I tolerate that, because I know your temperament…"

"And" Reeve continued "I know the temperament of yours because, well, I'm your uncle. And because I know what you have gone through…" he stood up, walking towards the window. He stopped and stared outside "And, ultimately, I feel the obligation to protect you because deep in my heart I feel like it has been my fault as well"

Cade froze "Uncle Reeve" he exclaimed "it was not your fault. I thought we had gone past that thing!"

Reeve turned towards him "I know" he said "Maybe it wasn't my fault at all. But I'm not made of steel. Back then I didn't do a thing to stop the course of action that led you to lose everything you loved. Twice. That makes me guilty. Maybe not just as much as the ones who did it personally, but to me was enough…"

Cade felt a surge of warmth in his heart. Reeve had always taken good care of him since the accident and since Cade had decided to reunite with him after the Deepground conflict had broken out. Still, he was feeling like he had to do much more to make up for a crime he had not committed at all. Somehow he felt sorry for him.

"I'm sorry uncle Reeve" Cade shook his head "I don't think I can't understand you. Believe me, I wish I could"

'That would make things much easier' the young man thought

"Don't worry Cade" Reeve smiled "I would like you to understand a thing, though…"

"What?"

"I won't be able to protect you forever. At least here in the WRO. I'm quite in a good spot, perched here atop of the chain command but even a leader has to continuously prove that he is worthy as such. And sometimes people thinks that the mark of a great leader is taking decision he wouldn't like to take"

"What do you mean?" Cade worriedly asked

"What I mean is" Reeve explained "that I can perfectly see why you beat up the son of the officer heading the General Staff of the WRO. I know that dickhead, and his father is slimy as a sneaky bastard of his kind can be. And poking on your past is despicable and if the circumstances were different I would have done the same only ten times worst"

"But we are a organization that works for a greater good. We try to keep the people safe and to make the world a better place, and in today's times is the most difficult thing ever. But nonetheless is what we all wish the most. It is what _everyone_ wishes the most"

"I may sound selfish and over-confident and all but I don't want to throw away all the good work we've done so far. I won't be able to justify your actions forever, and if the General Staff will impeach me because of you… well I pray it will never happen!"

"Why?" Cade asked

"Because the WRO will turn into the World's police force. That's the mood of the General Staff lately. I'm not giving away the WRO to a business of hawks and vultures. That's not what I meant it to be. And maybe you too, as well…"

Cade scratched his head "I joined the WRO because you, uncle Reeve, had put up an organization that solved problems trying every approach it could use, not just brute force. That's why I fit in here… You know, there's more than one way to skin a cat, no?"

"You found your place, here. Am I right?" Reeve asked

Cade nodded

"I can hardly imagine how you feel without a home to think about, with no one to turn to and all the rest…" Reeve mused

"Hey, eam! The WRO is my home now. And besides, I still got you. And maybe Cid…" Cade frowned, bemused at the idea of considering the technician as a surrogate paternal figure

Reeve smiled "So let's keep things as they are, until they won't get better. Shall we?"

"Thank you, uncle Reeve!" Cade said, spurred by a renewed sense of gratitude. Having a face-to-face straight talk with his uncle reminded him that Reeve Tuesti was still concerned about him even today, all while leading the World Regenesis Organization. Reeve's words were an invitation to shed the armour of selfishness that Cade had let the circumstance build on his skin. And it worked

"For what?"

"Do you even ask?" Cade chuckled "For everything, that's it!"

"Look" the young man continued "I admire you, uncle Reeve. You may have been part of an organization that nearly broke this planet apart but you did risk a lot to prevent it from actually happening. And then you did even more. I appreciate your position. And I appreciate the fact that you helped me. The least I can do is not to screw things up. But sometimes I derail. Guess I still have a lot to learn"

He paused. Waiting for a reply

"But I'll try and do my best. I have to do something. Something good for the world. You know I promised it…"

"That's what she would have wanted, right?" Reeve asked him

"Right" Cade nodded, his mind shifting back in time. He quickly raced back to the present

"I'll be someone you can count on, uncle Reeve. I promise"

Reeve said nothing. He just stepped toward the young man and hugged him. Cade hugged him back

"I don't want you to change, Cade. Just listen to your heart and do what you feel is the right thing. I trust you…"

"That was corny" Cade laughed, partly as a way to chase away the tear lingering in his eye. Reeve's words had the power to strike deep in his heart

"I heard you turned down Kayla once again" Reeve mocked him as they released each other

"Oh…" Cade lowered his head

"Just trying to make a laughter at your expense… don't take it!" Reeve explained

"That means that _somebody_ told you…" Cade enquired

"I'm always the big boss here. I've got plenty of leads"

Cade laughed "I'll behave, uncle Reeve. I promise it" he said, sincerely. Genuinely sincerely as someone might have said, judging by his voice

"As I said: what you feel is the right thing is probably the right thing to do. That's the key. You're just as good as you are" Reeve advised him

"I thought the key was to play by the book…" Cade countered

"Uh! Glad to hear that Cid talks wisely, between a bad word and the other one"

Cade smiled "Dismissed?" he asked

"One last thing? Do you remember the last thing Zansteid told you at the briefing?"

"The MPM?"

Reeve nodded

"What I am going to tell you is strictly confidential. Only Zansteid and the being of me knows that, so consider yourself the leading man in this matter"

Cade stood to attention

"We have suspicion that a mole has infiltrated the WRO!"

Cade dropped his jaw

"Are you serious?" he asked

"Ninety-five percent sure" Reeve nodded "And it has already reached the high echelons of our organization"

"But that means that we are dealing with little more than street urchins?"

"Way much more" Reeve confirmed

"What are you going to do then?"

"I've taken my precautions" Reeve explained "As you have heard at the meeting we are drawing a response to the Mako Singularity threat"

"Mako Singularity?"

"We decided to give our enemy a name. It is less menacing this way. You fear less things that you can call with a name. Go figure with two…"

"Sounds legit" Cade thoughtfully said

"Anyway, our plan requires specific actions to be carried out. And we will need protection while we proceed. That's why I need you"

"Me?" Cade could smell the scent of a next assignment. All of a sudden he felt lit up with excitement

"You and your backup" Reeve added

"Backup?" Cade wondered, marvelling at that last word

"It's not that I'm not trusting you. I just feel like you need someone else with you"

"Well, I understand your concern" Cade sighed

"Don't worry. I'm not doubting you will do a good job. But saving the world is too much for just one man. As capable as can he be. And I decided to assign you a hell of a backup, believe me"

"So!" Cade exclaimed "What is my next assignment?"

Reeve picked up a small folder from the desk.

He passed him the folder "Wutai! That's where your assignment begins!"


	3. Wutai

WUTAI

1.

The lushly green forests of Wutai were the perfect match for the crystal clear summer sky. The cherry trees next to the roads that sprawled from the main town of the island had already fully blossomed and resembled rows of pink streams making their way through the lands.

Where groves and woods ceded their place to flooded rice fields, the green took a slight turn towards darker shades as it blended with the mud unearthed by the plows. The atmosphere was quiet as it could ever be in any given day on the island, with the notable exception of the New Year's Day and the other festive days that rocked the country.

It would have been the perfect chance for anyone to take a strut in the middle of the gifts of nature Gaia had reserved for the people inhabiting that corner of the world.

Someone in fact had decided to immerse herself in the beauty of the landscape and pay it homage by standing concealed in a secluded spot overlooking a meadow right where the southern route from the town took a turn eastward before continuing to the craggy mountains in the south of the island, a barren place where only the priest cared to tread to pray at the Da Chao mountain shrine, a holy place for the souls of the nation devoted to the Gods protecting it in exchange for Materia, as the sacred textbooks had taught them.

Actually the girl, who had lodged herself in a hole in the ground left when the stub of an oak hade been pried away, was thinking about anything but the idyllic landscape surrounding her. She allowed herself to curse and swear as she slapped an exposed piece of her skin. In order to improve her camouflage, she and the two other members of the party who had ventured with her in that kind of gest, had crafted homemade ghillie-suits. They resorted to weave hemp strings and weeping willows leaves together, dampening everything with mud, as one of the members had voiced the notion it would have kept insects at convenient distance. A notion that had painfully and annoyingly turned out to be without proper scientific fundaments.

The result was that they got neither an effective camouflage device, nor protection against these small and pesky creatures, which were thriving in the tropical summer of Wutai.

The girl first decided to add to her list of things to do to heavily berate whoever came up with the idea of the ghillie-suits. The heat of that day had turned them into a burden she couldn't wait to get rid of. Secondly, she resolved to politely point out that mud in itself was effective against mosquitoes as a bamboo cane was helpful in the duel against a Bahamut beast.

Her focus shifted back on the task at hand. As skilled as she was as a ninja and warrior, she realize that maybe her father was right when he said that she lacked one of the most important virtues of a warrior: patience.

They had waited for more than three hours for their mark to appear. They were eager to get into action but slowly the fear that they had been tipped wrongly started insinuating into their mind.

The sun was high above in the sky and the hottest part of the day had just begun. Sweat and the itch of the mosquito bites were slowly eroding the girl's confidence in the outcome of the mission.

'Let's wait only just half an hour more… then we'll call this stupid put-on off' she thought, sighing at the realization of not having been able again to prevent a crime against her native land and fellow people.

"Are we going to wait for long or what? I'm choking up down here…" a voice erupted from her communication device

"Yuri" the girl silently shouted, startled "Stop shouting in this goddamn thing! You scared me out!"

"Whops sorry!" the boy by the name of Yuri replied "Are we going to wait any longer or what?" he repeated in a muffled voice

"Just one half hour more" she announced

"No way" a different voice came in "We have wasted the whole morning here and nothing came from it. We've been cheated! And for good!"

"Please guys" the girl begged again "Just a tiny, small, insignificant half an hour! I promise we'll be making our way back soon if nothing shows up in a goddamn half and hour. Just a tiny, fucking half-an-hour!" she stressed every word as she marvelled at her own crudeness. 'Must be the heat' she justified herself

"That guy at the market wanted our Gils and he did a very good job at robbing us…" one of the voices complained

The girl grew a grump on his face "Hey, I'm the leader here. If nothing shows up in half an hour we'll go. Period. Full, damn stop! Not a minute earlier, though. Am I clear?" she firmly said at the radio

"Well, if that's how things are… But how about the Gils we have wasted?"

"Don't be so overly attached to money, Aizen" the girl replied "We'll find a way to make up for the loss. I promise!" she assured

"Well in that case I should consider myself safe and sound!" Aizen countered sarcastically

"Moron!" the girl whispered

"What?"

"Nothing. Shut up already!" she moaned

'As if they had better stuff to do in their lives' she thought to herself

The communications fell silent again. The girl looked at the shadows on the ground and resolved to quit it as soon as they would have reached a certain shape. She was beginning to feel the desire of taking shelter back in her cool, shaded place back in town. And maybe take a bath.

She pondered again at the reason she was holed up there. Although a brash, bratty and almost tomboyish lady, the girl had always felt a sincere concern for the fate of her homeland. The island of Wutai had know better and more glorious days but she was determined to bring it back to its lost magnificence. Starting by the little things, such as discovering who was behind the recent disappearance of the valuable and precious Materia at the Da Chao temple. Although not really a feverishly spiritual soul herself, she felt how important was for her folkspeople to find haven and consolation in the spiritual sphere of their lives, especially in times like these.

"Hey hey! Look at that one! Could be it, at last?" one of the voices exclaimed. The sudden call up aroused her attention.

The girl quickly scanned the surroundings. A lonely man was walking down the road from the direction of the Da Chao mountain and slowly approaching to the bend. He was wearing a red hooded cape and was carrying a bulky and cumbersome sack on his back

"Told you so!" the girl could hardly contain his excitement

"Please don't start bragging as you always do! He's more than two hours late than you had guessed!" Aizen pointed out

"At least we've got something! And then, thieves and people like that care less than nothing about any kind of schedule" the girl protested

"Guys" Yuri recalled them "We are still missing the other piece of the jigsaw!"

"It will come out of its own, I'm totally sure!" the girl exclaimed

Just as she said that, the sound of a vehicle gradually filled the air: a black pick-up truck came from the direction opposite where the man had came from earlier. It pulled over right next to him

"So, let's see who we've got there…" Yuri whispered, cracking his knuckles in anticipation

"Pray this is what we came and waited for!" Aizen begged

"Holy shit!" Yuri swore, as he got a visual over the two men who had stepped out of the truck. They were sporting the blue uniform of the Wutai Civic Guard.

"I can't believe it!" Aizen cried in disbelief

"Cranky bastards!" the girl uttered "It's Haong and Pesh of the goddamn Civic Guard!"

"Regent Haong" Yuri corrected her "The head of those corrupted pigs!"

The Civic Guard was a law enforcement agency only recently established in Wutai, but it still had to win the sympathy of the inhabitants yet. The popular belief was that the Civic Guard had provided a workplace to the malingerers and the crooks on the island.

"The cherry atop the rotten cake the Civic Guard is!" the girl fumingly added

"Are we sure we are going to do that? Nobody steps over the feet of the Regent and comes away in one piece…" Yuri asked, worriedly

"We might as well give it up. I've got a bad feeling about this…" Aizen suggested, weighing his concern in

"No, no and again no!" the girl resolutely stated "Let's see who is behind the Materia disappearance at the Da Chao temple first"

As she had asked the man personally, the red-caped guy pulled down the hood

"Oh no!" Yuri sighed "This is bad!"

"If only we could record this!" Aizen said

"High priest Daoyai!" the girl almost shouted, minding at the last minute not to blow her cover. She bit her tongue

"So, let me make a resume" Yuri said "the High Priest of the Da Chao temple whisks Materia away from the temple itself and smuggles it to none the less than the chief of the Civic Guard"

"This country is fucked all over…" Aizen shook his head

"And the Materia goes to the black market where it is sold to who knows…" Yuri continued

"And probably Haong and those blue-clad jerks take their slices of profits" Aizen finished

"But why the priest?" Yuri marvelled

"Probably Haong is threatening him. I doubt he would have given in to such a scummy scheme"

The girl felt an utter sense of sadness. She had just witnessed the extent to which his land had come to. It was the bottom of a spiral of decadence of a land once known for being the cradle of a thousand-year old culture, an heritage which had fostered a population of proud and strong warriors, ready to defend their country from any kind and form of threat.

But the war against the Shinra corporation, back in the days before she became the girl she was now, had taken its toll and the demise of the latter had only made things worst. Now the land of Wutai and its people were adrift in the sea of history, at the mercy of whoever would exploit it for their own convenience.

She felt like she could cry right there on the spot. Instead, her anger grew only more intense

"I'm calling this off…" Aizen announced "We're going to be in deep trouble if we only dare to move a finger"

"I'm with you!" Yuri agreed

Her right arm moved on its own accord

'And I am supposed to reign over this mess…' she thought

Her right hand clenched the blade of her shuriken

'If not me, then who'll do this?' another thought trailed in her mind

"What about you Y…" Yuri was about to ask. He looked upward toward the cliff.

The girl had thrown away the ghillie-suit and, after a brief dash had leapt off the cliff. She somersaulted in the air and landed feet away from the men below, holding her shuriken fast. She revealed her figure as she stood in the sunlight without the impairment of the suit: a short, albeit thin girl, he long and slim limbs were muscular enough to allow herself to face enemies apparently way stronger than her. Her black, short hair gleamed under the midday sun. She was wearing a strapless purple top, held in place by looped orange belts, colour matching her shorts. At her feet she wore combat boots and her legs were wrapped by white bandages up to her knee.

Her brown eyes launched a menacing gaze to the three men in front of her

"Looks like we've got company!" Major Pesh, of the Civic Guard, observed, showing only a tiny hint of surprise

"And not just ordinary company I see…" the man by the name and title of Regent Haong calmly added

The priest said nothing. He immediately recognized her face and he stood there in its place, his face morphed by guilt and remorse.

Yuri and Aizen swiftly came out from their hiding place

"And looks like the party is going to get bigger" Haong noticed "What do you say, priest?"

"I… " the priest stuttered, his bald head dripping sweat. He clutched his sack

"All right then. Looks like our little lady here caught wind of our small business!" Haong said

"Regent Haong!" the girl exclaimed "You are the most despicable man who has ever breathed in the land of Wutai!"

"Some time ago you would have used a more colourful language. Looks like your father straightened you up… at least to some extent!"

"Give up the Materia!" Aizen shouted "It belongs to the temple!"

"It belongs to Wutai!" Yuri added "It's a holy piece. It's not meant for your filthy business!"

Haong quietly laughed "What are you going to, should we decide not to comply?"

The three warriors emphasized their feisty stance

"Well then…" Haong raised an arm.

From the bushes and the rocks around the bend even more Civic Guards came out, everyone holding and aiming their rifle at each of the three of them.

Their rifles clicked at unison as they were loaded

"Crap!" the girl exclaimed, her eyes widening upon beholding the sudden threat

"See? Unlike someone else I came here with my back well covered" he made a few steps towards the girl as his colleague grasped the sack from the motionless priest. Two guards sneaked from behind and apprehended Yuri and Aizen, much to their clangourous protests

"Hey, you bastard! Leave them alone!" the girl challenged

"I don't think you are in the position of giving orders" Haong said "I think you should better find a way to explain to your father why did you plan to ambush two members of the Civic Guard…"

"You are stealing Materia! I don't give a rut about the Civic-fucking-Guard" the girl protested

"Would you like me to go to your father and be like 'Mister Kissaragi, we are sorry to announce you that you daughter went missing near the Da Chao mountain!' and then sending him your corpse to be identified afterwards?" Haong suggested, watching his colleague loading the sack in the back of the pick-up

The girl, the daughter, the only daughter of Godo Kissaragi, stiffened upon hearing these words

"Are you planning to kill me, Haong?" she screamed

"Me? At all" Haong raised his hands "I would never try to put the daughter of Lord Kissaragi off the map. I'd rather leave that dreadful task to nature" he concluded, almost hissing his last words

"Yuffie!" Aizen screamed "Please stop! This is as bad as it can get!"

The guards towering over Aizen and Yuri pointed their rifles at their heads.

Yuffie Kissaragi found herself in a pinch. Further provoking Haong meant that something really bad could have happened. The warrior of Wutai, the fearless ninja heir of the House of Shinobi was without a choice. She had to surrender.

"I'm counting up to three" Haong announced "If you don't let go of your weapons, I'm going to pump some lead into the bodies of your friend!"

The three boys all gulped. Yuffie was struck with horror

"What!?" she shouted "Are you going to murder two innocents cold-blooded?"

"I'm a protector of the peace here!" Haong offered

"Bullshit!" Yuffie continued "Are you really willing to explain to Wutai how two kids had been murdered by a crooked cop?"

Haong laughed "Of course not! I'm not that dumb. But, you know, Wutai is not a safe place nowadays. And everyone could have a reason to kill someone. I'll make up a story. That will do!"

"Anyway, one…!" Haong started counting, making a swift gesture towards the guard holding Aizen and Yuri pinned down. Yuri closed his eyes

Yuffie's heart began to beat faster

"Two…!" Haong continued

Yuffie was about to lower her arm and drop the shuriken

"Three…!" Haong said, a tip of excitement in his voice

"Hold on there, you!" the voice of Major Pesh broke through the air. Everyone stared at him, as he dropped the sack to pull out his handgun and aim it at a figure who had just appeared.

Yuffie turned towards the source of everyone's attention. A person, a young man was standing just outside the circle of guards surrounding her. He was wearing blue trousers, trekking shoes and a white shirt. He carried a belt with a holster dangling on his hip. He could have passed for any of the countless tourist spending a vacation on the island every year.

Yet something tingled Yuffie. The guy was probably more that met the eye. It was just a feeling, but Yuffie could not convince herself otherwise. Her senses had served her well in her endless escapades around the world, pulling her through the tightest of the situations. She trusted them quite with all her heart

"Identify yourself, citizen!" one of the Guards shouted

"Whoa… looks like I'm interfering with the local law enforcement agency here!" the man exclaimed, as he made a step back

Yuffie tried to look through his external appearance. The shirt was not too loose and she could definitely see that he was well-built. He was probably an avid outdoor enthusiast. Or probably something else…

"Freeze right there!" one of the guards ordered "And give me an ID!"

"There's no need to shout" the man calmly explained, as he dip his hand into his pocket. That startled the guards even more

"I SAID DO NOT MOVE!" Pesh cried, as he pointed his pistol in the sky and fired a warning shot. The guard then aimed the gun directly at the intruder again

The man was only startled a bit

"Geeze! That was loud!" he screamed, sounding more surprised than terrorised "Calm down everyone! I'm just a visitor here! I just spent quite a few Gils down in town. Would you deprive your entrepreneurs the chance to milk a tourist again?"

Yuffie's curiosity grew even more. Usually a layperson would have collapsed to the ground hands on his head upon being fired a warning shot. Instead the man had only shivered a bit.

Two guards ran to his side pushing him to the ground and pulling him at the centre of the scene, his hand still stuck in the pocket. Yuffie swore she could see signs of recent closed wounds on his right forearm.

"HOLY SHIT!" he protested "That's the way the local police deals with visitors? I though Wutai was a more tourist-friendly place…"

"Shut up!" Haong told him "Search him!" he ordered one of the guard

"No way!" the man exclaimed, hastily throwing a wallet out of the pocket "If you want to see my credentials there you go. But if you dare to touch me I'm going to…"

"Going to what?" a guard asked, placing the muzzle of the rifle inches away from his nose

The man gulped "I'm going to file a complaint to whomever it may concern… and have your ass fired, mister boss-of-this-bunch-of-jumpy-wannabe-cops"

The Civic Guards laughed

'Well, at least kid there has sense of humour' Yuffie thought, nervously smiling

Haong kicked the man in the belly. He rolled to the ground groining and holding his hands to the stomach

"Not twice in two days…" he complained, panting

Haong did not pay attention to him. He collected the wallet. He grinned upon seeing the man's ID

"Lieutenant Cade Tuesti, WRO!" Haong read out

The guards quietly chucked

"Tuesti?" Yuffie bawled

Cade turned to her. He smiled and timidly waived "That's me! Do we know each other?"

"As it would impress me" Haong scoffed "The WRO doesn't mean a thing here. We stopped meddling with anything and anyone coming from the other side of the ocean!"

"So, what are you going to do? Kill me?" Cade taunted him, slowly standing back on his feet, carefully watched over by two guards "Have I witnessed something inconvenient? Looks like I did…"

"Well" Pesh stepped up towards him "Looks like you don't leave us with much alternatives" the Major said, aiming the handgun at Cade's head. Cade gulped

"Are you serious? And the what are you going to do? Drop me off a cliff to cover the bullet holes and tell my superiors I had taken an uncharted trail against your passionate advise? I heard this story before…"

"Something like that" Haong replied

"I used that excuse before it was cool, trust me" Cade boasted

Haong tilted his head "What do you mean?"

"I mean that we are on the same boat here. The WRO might not even mean a thing to you, but I have friends outside it that could be upset if something would happen to me"

Haong showed signs of nervousness for the first time. He tried to convince himself that the buffoon in front of him was just bluffing. If so, he knew how to sound convincing, though

"Well, mister Tuesti, what do you suggest then?"

"What about a deal?" Cade offered

"What?" Pesh exclaimed

"Come on!" Cade carried on "There's no need to have a bloodshed in this beautiful place. Think about the damage to the tourism industry. I'll give you something and I get something back!"

Haong smiled "Pitch your offer, then…"

"Well" Cade pondered "Let's make it like this: I'll take the girl…" he pointed towards Yuffie

"What?" Yuffie shouted

"… and I think I'll take the boys as well. They deserve to live and make some more mistakes in their lives"

Aizen and Yuri frowned upon Cade's words

"And you let me go… and I think that's it!" Cade concluded

Haong shook his head, cackling "That's not how things work in such circumstances. We should get something in return…"

Yuffie was puzzled by Cade's demeanour. What was the reason for his presence here? And was he really trying to save here? And besides, was he really connected to the only other Tuesti she knew?

'If he's here for me, I hope he's got a plan because this situation is a disaster…' she thought

Cade slapped his forehead "Fuck! That's right!"

Yuffie was swinging between hope and fear that things could only turn out even worse

"Well!" Cade said "Since I've got nothing to offer you, let's say you get nothing!"

The Civic Guard grew a look of disbelief on their face. Haong could not believe a thing he was hearing. He grew even more shocked and nervous

"I thought we were trying to reach a deal" Haong angrily said, clinching his fist around the grip of the pistol

"Not really" Cade replied "I just told you how it is going to end: I take what I came for and you get out of the way"

The guards did not even have time to process what the young man had just told them that Cade reached for his holster and hurled a small, gleaming cylindrical object in the air. Everyone followed it with their eyes.

Yuffie did not make that mistake. She caught whip of the nature of that artefact. She shut her eyes as the flash-bang grenade detonated with a flash and a loud bang, which resonated through the meadow. Her ears were blown apart by the explosion so she could not hear a thing while she felt being pulled away towards the vehicle.

As she realized that Cade Tuesti himself was dragging her away, she tried to be more helpful. She regained balance as she saw Yuri and Aizen being spirited away with her.

She acquired her hearing back and she could gradually hear the cries and the laments of the guards, some of them strewn on the ground, other swinging their arms in an effort not to lose their balance. Haong and Pesh were screaming with their hands over their ears. The Priest had simply collapsed to the ground.

Cade quickly checked his pulse

"Good, he's still alive, the old chap! He'll have plenty of time to atone for his actions!"

"What are you doing?" Yuffie screamed

"Taking you to a safe place, that's it! Get in!" he instructed her as he hopped on the driver's seat of the pick up

"You two" he ordered Yuri and Aizen "On the back. And stay down!"

"All right man!"

"We really owe you one!" Aizen shouted

"It's not over yet" Cade admonished them "Save thanks for later!"

"I think we've just gone from the pan to the oven" Yuffie objected "We're going to get hunted down back in town!"

"Hey, miss!" Cade protested, as he turned the keys "Do you want me to leave you with those guys back there?"

Yuffie hesitated.

The engine roared as it turned on. Cade pushed the gas pedal, revving it up.

"Where did you get the keys?" she asked

"They were still in" Cade told her "Cops!" he sighed

"Hey, here's the Materia!" Yuri triumphantly exclaimed, opening the sack

Rifles popped behind them. Everyone ducked as bullets flew through the windscreens

"Stay down, I said!" Cade shouted, as he accelerated and drove away from the spot. Even more bullets reached for the car as he darted away from the guards.

Suddenly a loud bang came from below them. The vehicle jolted and started wobbling

"What happened?" Yuffie anxiously asked

"I think a tire has just popped" Cade said

"We're doomed!" Yuffie cried

"Hey, try to be optimistic! Besides, we've got three more of them!"

Yuffie dropped her jaw in disbelief "Do you have a plan at least?" she frantically asked

"I do" Cade answered, steering with his hands fastened on the wheel to compensate the swerving of the car on the road "But, just like all other great plans, is top secret!"

Yuffie moaned noisily "You're going to kill us all!" she protested "Besides who are you? And why do you want to take me away?"

"This is not question time!" Cade shut her down

"We've got company!" Aizen warned them

Two more pick-up trucks appeared behind them. They were crammed with Civic Guards. On one of the vehicles, a guard touted a rifle.

"Get down!" Yuri shouted

The rifle sprayed bullets. Most of them went astray.

"Their aim sucks!" Aizen commented

"Don't worry" Cade told him "Just wait for them to get closer!"

"Can't we go any faster?" Yuffie shouted

"Oh, we could" Cade said "But pushing a monster at top speed with a flat tire and who knows what else is broken is a hazard…"

"Because we're safe for now, right?" Yuffie sarcastically remarked

Cade grumped

"Hey kids!" he shouted back at Aizen and Yuri "Do you know how to use a gun?"

"What?" Aizen exclaimed "Shooting back at the Civic Guards?"

"I thought we were just going to get away from them!" Yuri added

"Oh, I see!" Cade sighed "Say no more. Young lady, hold the wheel!"

Yuffie leapt forward to hold the steer while Cade crawled back to the flatbed passing through the shattered windshield. He took off his gun

"Wow! That sure is a gun!" Yuri exclaimed

"You don't want to shoot back at them!" Yuffie cried

"Do you have any other options?"

As he waited for a reply, the Guards left off another salvo of bullets. Sparks flew up in the air as the projectiles ricocheted on the thick chassis of the vehicle. Cade and the others took shelter

"See?" he shouted "They are not going to caress us, so we might as well play their game!"

Cade aimed at the tires of the chasing truck. He fired a volley of bullets. None of them hit their target. He ducked again to reload.

"Damn it!" he shouted

The truck swerved violently

"Hey!" Cade shouted towards the cockpit "Would you mind keeping it straight for me, won't you? I've got targets to hit!"

"I've never driven one of these things before!" Yuffie protested

"What?" Cade cried in disbelief "And you wait until now to tell me that?"

"You didn't asked!" Yuffie replied

'Is this guy even fucking serious?' Yuffie thought as she battled his personal fight against a rebellious truck which seemed to act according to a will of his own. She was now sweating ten times she had sweated under the sun the whole morning.

A sudden jolt made her cry as one of the chasing vehicle sprinted forwards and tailgated the pick-up. Somehow she managed to keep it on its tracks. By chance none of the Civic Guards on the trailing truck were ready to shoot, otherwise sweeping the back of the pick-up in front of them would have been the easy as snapping fingers.

The road took a bend and descended towards a crossroad. Yuffie meant to take the chance to gain as much speed as possible, since the long straight stretch ahead of her made her feel she could now lead the vehicle without having to deal with curvy trajectories.

Then the unexpected. To be more precise, something she hoped did not happen, happened.

A horse-pulled cart slowly made its way through the intersection. Its bulky profile occupied the whole crossroad, offering virtually no escape route. The farmer, noticed an unusual thundering noise to his right. He turned his head and in a matter of second he ran off, leaving the cart to his fate.

Yuffie shouted.

Cade, Yuri and Aizen turned their heads to see what had caused so much commotion. They shouted as well as they tried to hold fast to the pick-up.

Much to her relief, Yuffie avoided hitting and possibly killing the horses. She aimed (or the car aimed) at the cart, shattering it and sending wooden planks in the air along with a storm of white grains which invaded the cockpit. The horses detached from their reins and flew away to safety

"Old MacDonald can say goodbye to his daily harvest…!" Cade sadly remarked.

Behind them, a truck drifted away to avoid the wreckage of the cart. It spun out of control and hit a tree trunk sideways. The vehicle took off and twirled in the air, landing on its side. It performed several more capers, throwing guards off-board before coming to a halt off the road and badly battered. Major Pesh opened the door of the passenger seat and collapsed to the ground after a couple of steps outside.

Would I sound heartless if I'd say 'One less!'?" Yuri shouted

"Too bad it wasn't the one with Haong on board!" Aizen added

"Are you beginning to enjoy this, kids?" Cade asked

"Kind of…" Yuri replied

"Good!" Cade made his way back in the cockpit "Nice manoeuvre out there! If you ever consider getting a driving license, you have my avail!" he joked, poking Yuffie on her arm.

He got no answer though.

Yuffie had somehow lost consciousness. She did not faint or pass away but she was now stuck at the driving seat with a thousand yard gaze. Her clothes and hair were filled with rice grains

"Hey! Are you with us?" Cade tried to get an answer from her

'This businesses are not for the faint-hearted!' he observed, shaking his head

He pulled Yuffie away from the driving seat "Kids, give our lady here a look. I think the chase is too much for her to bear!"

Huts and houses were beginning to appear in crescent number along the road

'I think we are getting closer to the town' Cade observed, as he noticed that more and more people were crowding the sides of the road

"The southern gate is up ahead!" Yuri cried "Let's hope is open!"

"What if it isn't?" Cade asked

"Just smash it, it will give in!" Aizen suggested

"SMASH WHAT?" Yuffie had suddenly regained consciousness

"Oh, there you are" Cade told her "I think we are near the town"

The vehicle behind them was still close enough but Haong had probably ordered his men not to use guns anymore. Stray bullets could have hit some unaware bystander.

"We're in town!" Cade told Yuffie "I thought of this: we're heading towards the Wutai Palace. We get off there, we make a run for it and we explain everything to your father!"

Yuffie felt a shock going through her spine. Her stomach began to churn

"My father?" she asked

"Yep" Chad confirmed "I bet those fuckers won't dare to harm you in front of him"

Yuffie's face was the portrait of despair

"Oh, if you don't like the plan, feel free to change it as you like!"

Yuffie stood silent, powerless against the course of events

"Look!" Yuri shouted "The southern gate is closed"

"And that's not the only bad news!" Aizen pointed his fingers at the barricade the Civic Guard had set up just in front of the door. It was nothing more than barbed wire held up by wooden tripods, but maybe it was enough to slow the vehicle down and make it come to a stop.

The commotion caused by the chase had prompted quite a lot of people to assemble around the gate. The Guards were frantically trying to disperse them.

Cade pushed the pedal to the limit. The engine roared again. It had somehow been spared by the rain of bullets exchanged with the chasers.

None of the guards near the gate dared to open fire towards the oncoming vehicle, which ploughed trough the barbed wire and finally crushing the bamboo-built gate and tearing it up into hundreds of pieces.

The bonnet of the pick-up flew away. A screeching sound informed the occupants that the front bumper had partially detached and was now brushing the asphalt. The cobbles of the streets of Wutai made the car jolt and shook their occupants

"What's the shortest route to the Palace?" Cade asked

"Right at the next and then straight ahead…" Aizen showed him

"BUT THAT'S THE MARKET ROAD!" Yuffie shouted in a burst of consciousness

"So what?" Cade shrugged. As he turned into the road Aizen had told him earlier, he realized.

The road was obscured by market stalls and, of course, the people shuttling from one vendor to the other. Everyone turned their attention to the vehicle which had appeared at the beginning of the road and which was now making its road through the mass of people.

Cade battled with the wheel to keep the pick up in a route that would cause as less damage as possible. He bumped his fist on the horn to fend people away. The roar of the engine was covered by the screams of the people trying to run for their safety, someone even diving in the canal parallel to the road. Cade smashed through a couple of stall sending the merchandise in the air. The chasing vehicle had apparently gave up the endeavour to keep up with him.

As the market road ended, the pick-up drove thorough a square in front of a pagoda

"There we are!" Yuri announced

From every corner of the opening, Civic Guards appeared, waiving their guns at the truck, which was by now falling apart. Cade ignored them and made its way towards a gate surmounted by two soldiers armed with a spear and clad in an old-fashioned green and gray uniform

"Palace guards!" Aizen shouted

"Well, if they are going to try to stop me with those things, they sure are confident in their means!"

True to their honour and duty, the guards went into a defensive stance and pointed their spear towards the incoming danger. They knew there was nothing they could do as the pick-up went past them and tore down the iron gate of the pagoda.

The engine started belching thick, black smoke and even the noises from it were a tell tale sign that the car was about to give up

"Everyone…OUT!" Cade shouted as the party bid farewell to the car, which ended its run against the steep staircase of the pagoda. Everyone made a dash towards the main entrance, including a nearly catatonic Yuffie.

As the Civic Guard were flooding the inner perimeter of the Wutai pagoda, a loud bang rocked the stairs, as the engine of the pick up exploded, catching fire.

2.

Yuffie could think of a plethora of adjectives to describe the situation she found herself in. The first and foremost was 'unfair': she had set out to find out who had done wrong to the people of Wutai, and she discovered just who did it. Unfortunately for her, tables had turned in quite a dramatic fashion and now she was the defendant.

The second was 'disastrous': she, no _they_ had wrecked havoc through the entire nation (virtually) and trashed the entire Saturday morning village market and caused panic among the townsfolk of Wutai, not to mention the theft of a Civil Guard vehicle. It would have taken ages to make amend for these shenanigans. Oh, and there was the issue of a dozen injured guards plus much more collateral damage.

The third was 'ashamed'. She was ashamed for herself. For everything that had happened that day. Ashamed for having dragged her friends into the incident. Ashamed for having once again thrown mud on the name of the House of Shinobi, of which she was the only living descendant. A role that apparently was not too fit for her underdeveloped sense of responsibility.

The fourth, which took quite rapidly the place of the previous one, was 'irate': it wasn't her fault, eventually. If only her father, the powerful Godo Kissaragi had taken the matter into his own hands, the Civic Guard wouldn't have been so free to act scot-free. The nation would still have a leader to look after and who would instil in its citizen a sense of community and decency that would have helped Wutai regain its place in history and on the maps. But this burden now rested on her shoulders, so it was not a surprise if she had to take drastic measures to prevent injustice to ravage on her beloved land.

The fifth was less metaphysical and more head-on. 'Moron-jerk-head-fucker'. Three birds with a stone. They were not even adjectives proper, Yuffie thought. But the guy who had stepped in and made things worse was definitely a moron, saving worst epithets. Yuffie was sure that eventually Regent Haong was simply trying to scare her off, no way he would have plotted to kill her, the daughter, the _only_ daughter of Lord Godo Kissaragi. She would have got a spank or two and let free, and nothing worst would have ever happened. She simply would have retreated to her safe haven and devise another way to heal the darkened spirit of her land.

But, Holy Maker, that despicable son-of-a-God-help-me-I'm-not-myself-anymore, coming out of nowhere, had to show off all his hero-of-the-day skill, injuring several people, destroying property for a yet still to be assessed amount of Gils and forcing her to explain everything to her father. Who, for the sake of justice and fairness, pretended to hear the Haong's account as well. Why? Why goddamn on heart? 'WHY?' she cried in her head. She really just wanted to crack down and cry, but the anger balanced the sadness so she managed to maintain a fierce and decent stance in front of her father, in the hearings hall of the Wutai Pagoda

"So!" Lord Godo Kissaragi exclaimed from his throne "Now it would be the part of the confrontation where I would ask you if things really went according to Regent Haong… but you should consider two things: it would be heavy for the Lord of Wutai to doubt of the word of the Regent of the Civic Guard. And secondly, I really don't think it would favour you to give neither a positive nor a negative answer!"

Yuffie stood silent. She looked to the side of the hall were Cade was standing. He was almost on guard, with the look of someone who was pretending to have been just an innocent bystander. This enraged Yuffie even more

"I really don't know how to deal with you anymore, Yuffie" her father continued "Since when you last came back home from your part-time activity of saving the world from anything, you grew more stubborn and undisciplined. I've always thought that a man at peace with himself should not fear the moment he'll pass away, since it would be an all too natural occurrence. But it is apparent that I will not be able to afford this peace of mind since I don't see a path after myself…"

"Stop it!" Yuffie cried, touched by these last words "You talk a lot of non-sense about discipline, priorities and all the damn else but you can't see the most evident fact of it all!"

"Enlighten me, then!" Godo challenged

"Wutai is crumbling under the hypocrisy and greed of the people who are supposed to protect it!" she pointed at Haong "You lecture everyone on the values of this, on the importance of that and you let these fucking poisonous snakes coil warmly in your bosom!"

Haong protested "Lord Kissaragi, this is unacceptable! Lady Kissaragi fell victim to a misunderstanding, and that is excusable. But she failed once to hear our reasons behind our action and now she is accusing us of being the most evil force in the country. This is simply unacceptable!"

"Regent Haong!" Godo cut him short, just as sternly as he had just addressed to his daughter "The existence of the Civic Guard is put into question nowadays because of the lewd conduct of your men. Yuffie did some despicable action, for sure. But do not consider your position fast!"

Haong stepped back, with a slight scowl on his face

"As of you" he turned back to Yuffie "I think you doubt how the ways of a society work. If you had the interest of your country truly at heart, you wouldn't cause so much disturbance"

"Why, are you doing something on your side?" Yuffie bitterly replied

"You really put a father's love for a daughter at a test, Yuffie" Godo sighed, displeasingly uttering those words "Sometimes I think the only solution would be to take you far away from here and leave you live the life you want. The only other option would be to lock you away in the pagoda without ever letting you go outside anymore…"

Yuffie's heart crumbled upon hearing those words. She fought back the tears gathering at the corner of her eyes

"So that's your one-size-fits-all solution? Sending problems away? Locking yourself up in the cocoon of yours, waiting for them to fade away? This is ridiculous…" she murmured

"And your way is better for sure! Tearing apart everything that stands in the way!" Godo shouted "Look at today! Look at every single frame of today: the shootout, the chase, the tragedy that was avoided who knows how at the market" He inhaled through the nose "And then you bring inside the pagoda this man, who reeks like a wild hoar?"

He had pointed in the direction of Cade, who stood at these words

"Hey, I've actually asked for a bathroom long ago but nobody cared to show me…" he protested

"SHUT UP!" Godo's fierce bawl and Yuffie's begging yet firm chirp came together

Cade backed down "Well, don't take it on me if the hall is going to stink, then"

"Don't think this is over for you as well" Godo admonished him "As much as I have the deepest admiration for Reeve and the WRO, that doesn't mean that you are the one with the white hat. Thank your surname if I haven't reserved you the treatment we used to deal with troublesome stranger…"

Cade puffed "Oh, nepotism!" he continued "So, if someone saves the daughter of the Grand Lord of Whatever from being executed by this parody of a mockery of a cop, is he hanged upside down to something?"

"Lord Godo!" Regent Haong vehemently protested

"Regent Haong, you are dismissed!" Godo sentenced "Get back to help clear the ruckus in town! And shall I hear one more complaint about you or one of your men, I'll take swift moves!"

Haong stomped his foot and saluted. He grudgingly exited the hall.

Godo sighed while shaking his head

"Yuffie, I'm tired of sounding like a broken record. I'll have to wait until that goddamn temperament of yours won't change"

"Why do you have to be so judgemental? Why don't you do the first step once in a while?" Yuffie replied

"Because I sincerely don't know what to do!" Godo calmly explained "And, if you excuse me, I'd like to call this over!"

"This isn't over, and you know it!" Yuffie objected

"Yuffie, I'm offering you an escape. Accept it, please. For the sake of

the both of us!" Godo pleaded

"All right then" Yuffie gave in, throwing her arms "What should I do then?"

"Listen to what the young man here has to say to you, maybe…" he stopped, as to much surprise he found that Cade was nowhere to be seen "Where did he go?" he asked. The answer came by itself.

Cade walked back into the hall form a secondary door. His hair were all damp and unkempt. He was brushing the back of his neck with a towel

"Sorry if I snuck away" he apologized "But on second thoughts my personal hygiene was not that really good, so I hade to make my way to the bathroom by myself" He gazed at the towel "Oh, I'm going to put it back in place, I'll promise!" he swore

Godo covered his face. Yuffie stared at him, feeling the urge to punch him 'Man, that guy is really unbearable. I hope I won't have to do anything with him!' she implored in her head.

"Lieutenant Tuesti" Godo announced "Take my daughter with you. Do what you came to do"

Yuffie's face was warped by the disbelief "WHAT?"

"The WRO needs you!" Cade explained "If you are the notorious Yuffie Kissaragi, the greatest warrior on earth, lady ninja of Wutai and nominee for the 'Best daughter of Gaia' award…"

"Fuck off!" Yuffie blasted him

"Why? Aren't you the greatest warrior on earth?"

Yuffie grunted

"Then we'll have to greet once again" Godo said, standing down from the throne, and slowly walking towards Yuffie "I'll hope being homesick again will clear your mind"

"We'll see…" Yuffie replied

"Just be careful! I would hate to hear that something had happened to you!" Godo said, his voice filled with the sound of genuine concern "You're still my daughter!"

"I see. I'll be fine!" Yuffie assured him, before briefly hugging him

Behind them Cade muttered "Oh, good! I was fearing we would have gotten stuck in this place forever!"

Yuffie thunderstruck him with her gaze as she held to her father. Maybe the quest in front of her would have been the chance to prove to herself and to her very father that she was bold and balanced enough to take care both of the world and Wutai in her own way. And possibly that her way would have been the one effective enough to get the country back again on its feet.

'For every delusion I give you, I'll try to give ten reasons to be proud of me. I'll promise it' she silently declared to her father.

"Did you really had to be like that, back there?" Yuffie asked, breaking the silence, as she and Cade walked through the alleys of Wutai. The townspeople were slowly beginning to recover from the unexpected turn their ordinary daily lives had taken that day. Most of them were trying to patch up the damage the commotion had caused them, collecting their merchandise sprawled all over the roads and trying to put back together their stalls. To others, instead, the chase through the streets had become topic for endless and vivid discussions, in the form of huddles of people at corners lively chatting and tweeting.

As Yuffie walked by them, she lured admired, frightened or sympathetic looks, depending on the attitude of the citizens coming by

"Hey Yuffie" a townsman holled "Good job out there. I don't know what happened but if the Civic Guard is pissed off that can't be anything but good…"

"Your father is too fond of you for your own sake. You trashed the place and kyboshed the Saturday Market. If only you weren't the princess I would make you pay that with interest" another one shouted

She merely didn't pay attention to them

"What?" Cade answered

"All the 'Best daughter in Gaia' and all that kind of no-fucks-given-just-lemme-out behaviour…"

"Ah, that thing" Cade recalled "Well, I save someone from a shootout, I bring that someone safe and I get nearly accused of multiple wilful homicide. Plus, that very someone treats me like I did the worst to her"

"If it wasn't for you…" Yuffie angrily noticed him

"…you and your friend would be under the ground feeding the daises" Cade continued

"Nothing would have ever happened!" Yuffie explained

"Oh, my mistake! I ignored your ascendant over the Civic Guard" Cade joked

"Look, I shouldn't tell you that but you've not made yourself a good publicity of yourself up to now!" Yuffie told him

"Oh me oh my" Cade moaned "What am I going to do now that Yuffie Kissaragi hates me? My life has no meaning nor purposes…"

"Shut up!"

"If you don't like me why did you decide to come with me, then?" Cade enquired

Yuffie paused

"Well" she explained "first of all because every excuse is good if it means I'm away from my father for awhile. Secondly, because if the request came from the WRO, I'm afraid I can't possibly turn it down…"

"Why not?"

"I was in the World Regenesis Organization myself"

"You?" Cade marvelled "No kidding!"

"Head of intelligence and espionage division! Yuffie Kissaragi!" she proudly stated "If it wasn't for me the Deepground conflict would have reduced the world to a graveyard, believe me!"

Cade stared in front of him "That explains why Reeve closed down the intelligence division"

"It's not closed" Yuffie corrected him "It's dormant"

"No way" Cade shook his head "Reeve would have told me about that"

"So, your father kept it away from you?"

"He's not my father" Cade sharply told her

"Then who is he? I doubt he is your son…" Yuffie laughed

"He's my uncle"

"I see" Yuffie concluded

They approached what a sing told them to be the Eastern Gate. A Civic Guard was perched onto an observation tower right next to it. The guard pulled a lever and the gate slowly swung open. Yuffie and Cade crossed the gate as other peasants and a cart made their way into town

As they infiltrated the countryside beyond the town's walls, Yuffie resumed talking

"How long have you been in the WRO?" she asked

"A couple of years" Cade vaguely replied

"That means that you were not there…" Yuffie concluded

"Nope" Cade anticipated her "I was not in the WRO when Deepground came out of the shadows. That is, I joined in the midst of that"

"And yet you are already an officer. Somebody up there loves you…"

"I guess. And so?" Cade replied, seemingly piqued by the observation

Yuffie somehow noticed the small hint irritation in his reply

"Hey, I'm not saying you're his crony. At all…" Yuffie corrected himself "I think you would do well even without being anybody's relative"

"Don't worry, carry on. I had taken much worse…" Cade sighed

"I mean" Yuffie tried not to sound offensive, yet again, much to her despair "You did pretty well back then when we were being chased. You would be a perfect soldier if you had a bit more salt in that head of yours"

Cade puffed

"Thus spoke the great heir of Lord Godo of Wutai" Cade mocked "You know, this place looks like it would run by itself. Why are you so adamant in refusing to take the throne?"

Yuffie steadied her fist to her waist. She stopped

"You know nothing, Cade Tuesti" she cried, irated "Family business are fucking family business. Mind your own issues with your parents but don't meddle with mine…"

Cade gulped "Thankfully I don't have to deal with it…" he thoughtfully claimed. A shadow flew over his face. Yuffie noticed it as well

"Have I said something wrong, now?" she asked, more annoyed than sorry

"Nothing at all… if I had made my calculations right, we should be even in terms of barbs"

"Then we should quit it, don't you think?"

"I suppose so" Cade concurred

They took a side trail which separated from the main road. Cade was on point, Yuffie closely following him. He welcomed the momentary hiatus in the conversation. 'Sure that girl is a motor-mouth' he complained

"Where are we heading at?" Yuffie asked, finally

"There's a heath up ahead" Cade explained "Our passage to our destination is there, waiting for us"

"What is it?"

"Somebody you should know, as far as he told me" Cade vaguely suggested

Yuffie shivered with anticipation. The trail came out of a small grove and lead up to a small bump. The couple reached the top of the hill and as soon as they look down, the familiar profile of the _Shera_ appeared.

A smile grew on Yuffie's face, as she hopped downhill to meet the tall, wide, blonde short-haired man idling under it

"Cid! I can't believe it's you!" she screamed

"Well well, if that isn't little Yuffie!" Cid threw his cigarette on the ground and welcomed the small ninja open arms.

Yuffie jumped onto him, almost making him fell backwards

"Ow, easy there Yuffie! I'm an old man!" he protested

"Cid Highwind! You cranky old man! I'm so happy to see you!"

"You didn't change a bit, Yuffie!" Cid observed "What are you up to?"

"Nothing really interesting" she shrugged "Just trying to keep this place up on its own"

"I see" Cid replied "Ready to go?"

"Sure" she answered "As long as mister Tuesti down there moves on" she looked back at Cade, who was calmly walking towards the airship

"C'mon Cade" Cid beckoned him "time to go. And fast!" he turned his attention back to the ninja "So you met our wonderful Cade! And Cade met our gracious white rose of Wutai. Right Cade?"

"Yep" Cade replied "Though the circumstances were bit odd. I have always preferred cafes to shootouts with the local law enforcement agency when it comes to dating places"

Cid scratched his scalp "Shootouts? Is that the reason it took you so long"

"C'mon, let's go" Cade cut short, taking the stairs to the airship's hull "I'll explain you while en route?"

"En route where?" Yuffie asked

"Edge" Cid answered "Don't ask no more. All I know is that I have to take you there, right at the WRO headquarters"

"Let's not waste more time then" Yuffie spurred them "By the way, I heard you are a married man now, Cid"

"That's right" he answered "And the cool thing is that I haven't regretted it yet"

Yuffie gave him a pat on the shoulder. As the hatch closed behind him, Cade wondered whether anything good would have come out by working alongside Yuffie Kissaragi

"Cade" Cid told him "C'mon! I really wanna heard about the shootout…"


	4. Ocean

OCEAN

1.

Under the surface of the sea, between the Corel and the Midgar coasts, the World Regenesis Organization submarine _Dragonette_ was slowly making its way amidst the banks of fishes swimming tightly around the steel-clad prowler of the abysses.

The submarine had been dispatched to a maritime patrol mission and in addition it had received further orders to monitor the flow of the Lifestream beneath the bottom of the ocean, right where the rift separating the two landmasses ran. Accordingly, in addition to its 37-men crew, it had embarked a small team of scientists before setting sails from Junon the day before. During the cruise they had been busy running the surveys pertaining the anomalies that had been recorded by the network of sonar-buoys deployed from one coastline to the other.

The commander, Rear Admiral Gast Anspeth, was more or less at ease in his seat in the submarine main deck. To him, that extended patrol was nothing more than a slight modification to the usual routine: the _Dragonette_ would have normally harboured back at Junon before sunset, being more suited to coastal patrol rather than long voyages around the waters of Gaia. On this occasion, on the other hand, the orders where to perform a sweep over the rift and rendezvous with a supply ship that would have extended the operational autonomy of the vessel for another day and a half. The _Dragonette_ was a small submarine, compared to its predecessors which had been mothballed and cannibalized by the Chief of Staff of the WRO Naval Service since their usefulness had come to an end. It was nonetheless reliable and well equipped and the WRO was using it extensively in their dual role of liaison and scientific vessels. Anspeth decided that operating outside the comfort zone of the submarine would have been the perfect chance to put the efficiency of the submarine (and of its crew) to test.

The cruise so far had proceeded smoothly, save for a bunch of minor malfunctions occurred just after leaving Junon harbour. Anspeth's crew dealt with them and, although frankly unexpected, they did not delay the mission schedule. The only thing that bothered Anspeth was how such glitches could occur in a submarine that had just rolled out from the inspections with flying colours.

Anspeth discarded these worries. He looked at his wristwatch and then addressed his executive officer

"XO, how long to the rendezvous with the supply ship?"

Jan Marcus, the Executive Officer and Anspeth's second in command tapped his fingers on a keyboard

"Still eight hours to go, sir" he replied

"Thank you, XO" Anspeth replied, slightly grumping

'Still too early' he thought

"Admiral, if I didn't know you, I'd dare to say you sound nervous" Mace Pinknell, the navigation officer had worked under the orders of Anspeth long enough to be allowed to use such friendly tones with the Admiral. Aspeth was known throughout the WRO Naval Service to be a stern although fair officer, who usually kept his due distance from subordinates. That did not prevent him from becoming more open if he deemed it appropriate

"I'm not" Anspeth assured him, smiling "But honestly, I'd like to call this off as soon as we can"

"Well, there will be still a day and a half at least to swim around the Corel-Junon rift, even after the rendezvous with the supply ship" Pinknell pointed out

"At least half of the work will be done by then"

"Right, sir" Pinknell concurred

"Sir, do we have anything to rely to Junon? The Digital Burst Relay is ready to broadcast" the communications officer asked from his station

"I'll go in the quarters to ask it personally to the scientists" Anspeth answered, standing up from the chair

"We can use the intercom and the submarine intranet. There's no need to walk downstairs" the communications officer marvelled at the Admiral's decision

"Well, we could. Of course!" Anspeth explained "But I'd like to exchange a few words with them. XO, I'll leave controls to you!"

"XO, taking controls" the executive officer confirmed, as he stood from his station, shifting to the Admiral's one

"Do not hesitate to ring the bell if something weird happens" Anspeth cared to recommend

"Yes, Sir!" the XO saluted, watching as the Admiral took the stairs at the end of the deck down towards the crew quarters

"Sure Aspeth looks nervous…" Pinknell observed

"I'm afraid he is" the XO pointed out "Must have been the issues with the on-board electronics we had experienced a couple of hours ago" he reminded the rest of the crew

"Sure that has scared me out as well" the electronic defence officer spun his seat to face the XO "I've never experienced multiple batches of panels going off randomly and simultaneously. And thank Heaven the guys at Junon told the submarine was good to go!"

The XO waived his hand "Probably is just a coincidence or something like that" he dismissed the electronic defence officer's worries "Maybe we have a defective relay or a contact in a circuit. It is serious but the redundancy of the submarine's computer will mend that glitch automatically. We should probably be more concerned about one of the scientist not meddling with wards of the submarine strictly reserved for crewmembers" he grinned

"Well" officer Pinknell concluded "At least, if anything really bad happens, we can always resurface an shoot a flare in the air…"

Admiral Anspeth walked through a narrow and low corridor before reaching the quarter that had been reserved to the scientific crew. He knocked on the door

"Come in" a voice replied from behind. Aspeth opened the door and entered the room. The quarter was not spacious at all, but considering the standards of that submarine, the two scientists making calculations over a relief map of the Corel-Junon rift were lucky enough to have gotten so much space inside a tin can such as the _Dragonette_

"Oh, it's you Admiral" one of the scientists sitting at the desk greeted him "Is there something we might help you with?"

"Oh, relax doctor Toz!" Aspeth told him "I just wanted to stretch my legs and see how your work is progressing…"

"That's very kind of you to take interest in our job!" Ephraim Toz, the head of the small scientific mission aboard the _Dragonette_ exclaimed. He was a geologist, a graduate from the Modeoheim University. He was quite the portrait of a 40-year-old academic, with pince-nez glasses and a well kept appearance despite being holed up in a submarine vessel

"Is there anything specific you'd like to ask?" the doctor Toz's aide asked the admiral

"Oh, well, why don't you just tell me if you have found something suspicious or weird…" Anspeth vaguely suggested

Toz puffed "It would be easier to find anything if only the pillow-heads at the WRO headquarters told us what to look for…"

"What do you mean?" Anspeth asked

"It means" the second scientist explained "that we had received the orders to board your vessel at Junon and to proceed to survey the rift. That is all. If anything suspicious was meant to be found, well we haven't been told that…"

Anspeth scratched the back of his neck. He had boarded a team of scientists who had look for something they did not even know where to look for it. Or what it was, for all that mattered.

'Sure this assignment is starting to turn funny' he thought, bemused but worried at the same time

"But if we really have to file a report of anything suspicious" the second scientist continued, getting a hold of a wad of papers "this should do"

Aspeth took a look at the papers the scientist had passed him on. They pictured a series of diagrams. Aspeth frowned

"Well, it's all clear, now…" he sighed, sarcastically

"Oh, I'm sorry admiral" Toz apologized "Here, I'll explain…"

The scientist took a pencil and unfolded the relief map better

"So" he explained "The Corel-Junon rift is an underwater valley running north-south, here under the ocean midway between the Corel and the Junon landmasses"

Aspeth took a stance over the map and nodded

"Seismically speaking" Toz continued "the two landmasses had always been pushing against each other. The shape of the valley suggest that the Junon plate is slowly subsiding under the Corel plate. And this has been going on since Gaia was created. At least, since when Gaia began its geological life"

"But now" the scientist made a series of diverging arrows along the line representing the rift "the sonar-buoys had began detecting strange seismic pattern…"

"Sonar-buoys detecting earthquakes?" Anspeth curiously asked

"Well, yes" the other scientist joined the conversation "The buoys are sensible enough to detect the sound from the friction of the rift's cliff pushing against each other, and that helps us devising quake reconstruction based on the sounds' patterns…"

Anspeth gazed at the map

"Bear in mind that water propagates sound way better that air"

"That's right" Anspeth nodded again

"So, back to the map" Toz continued "The gush in the earth crust right here, at least according from the buoys and from the seismographs is now opening again"

"What?" Anspeth stared at him

"The plates had began slowly separating from each other. We don't know why but maybe…" he took another sheet. This time Aspeth could tell what it was about

"Mako readings" he said

"Right" Toz confirmed "Mako is seeping through the rift. This can be a consequence… or the cause!"

Anspeth took a closer look at the sheets and the map in front of him. Not that would have helped him understand the situation any better than Toz did. He sighed, challenged by the complexity and by the realization that probably the matter uncovered by the scientists would have had implications even for someone who was not really a man of science, like Anspeth himself.

Or maybe for the entire population of Gaia

"Is this the only place where that thing is happening?" Anspeth asked

"We don't know for sure…" the aide vaguely replied

"Maybe the WRO is performing surveys somewhere else. Maybe even in Mideel. But we can't be sure of that"

"Why not?"

"Nobody told us!" Toz shrugged

So apparently, the WRO was carrying out a series of inspections unbeknownst to the general public and even to high ranking officers like Anspeth himself.

But the most awkward side of the matter, was that even the persons tasked with carrying out these inspections were unaware of the wider picture.

Suddenly the light inside the quarter flickered and turned red. An alarm went off

"What is it?" Toz asked, startled by the chime

"It's the proximity alarm" Aspeth realized

"Admiral Aspeth on the deck!" a voice in the intercom announced "We have an unexpected target on radar!"

"I'd better go, now. Maybe our contact is running early on the timetable. Thanks for your time, gentlemen!" Aspeth greeted the scientists

"Thank you, Admiral" Toz shouted him as the Admiral made a run for the main deck. The interior of the submarine were flooded by a bright red light as the alarm was instructing every crewmember to rush to their respective battle station.

Anspeth climbed upstairs and reached the main deck

"Situation?" he asked

"Contact at 40 degrees from our bow, distance less than 5 miles" the radar officer illustrated him

"Why didn't we picked it up earlier?" Anspeth asked

"I don't know" the radar officer replied "The contact was picked up by the radar itself while it was scrubbing the scope"

"Could it be the resupply ship?"

"If it is, their transponder is either out of order or deliberately shut off…"

"Everyone ready at battle stations" Anspeth ordered "Code red!"

"Relying message to Junon" the communications officer announced "Buffer ready to broadcast"

All of a sudden the whole submarine was shook by a violent shockwave. Everyone held fast at their station

"What was that?" Anspeth frantically asked

"A shockwave!" the sonar office announced "We have no trace of the epicentre, though…"

"Was it a seaquake?" the Admiral asked

"I'm investigating" the sonar officer replied "But the readings went off the charts so it will hard to pinpoint the location?"

"Damage control?"

"We're safe" an officer replied

"What's the status on the previous target?" Anspeth asked the radar officer

"Still there where we first found it" he replied

"Contact Junon on the emergency frequency" Anspeth instructed the communications officer

"The frequency is occupied!" the communications officer told him

"What?" Anspeth was shocked. All of a sudden a routine patrol, a mission which consisted in nothing more to take a bunch of scientist on a trip into the sea was becoming a cluster-fuck. He started to sweat, the worries of the present situation coupling with the revelation the scientists had disclosed to him earlier.

As Anspeth rushed to the communication station, all lights in the main deck went off. They partially lit up again after a couple of seconds.

"Power out" the XO shouted "We've lost power on the main circuitry!"

"The auxiliary units?" Anspeth asked

"It already kicked in!"

"Defence status?" the Admiral again asked

"We're in standby mode" the defence systems officer announced

"Engines shut down" the engine officer shouted "We're coming to a halt!"

"Contact engine room!" Anspeth ordered "I'll go and see what happened in the server room. Broadcast a continuous feed on the emergency beacon!"

The officers nodded. Anspeth proceeded aft as the XO took charge of the ship.

2.

The trawler _Constantine_ was lazily idling in the waters just miles away from the _Dragonette._ Its captain was sitting on a chair at bow, dressed in a heavy harbour coat at gazing at the tip of the fishing rod. Banks of fog were starting to emerge from the surface of the sea.

At the other end of the small fishing boat a voice chimed through the cold air of the night

"I can't really understand your craze for night-time fishing. I'm getting stiff and frozen like an icicle and we've caught nothing so far…"

The captain sighed at the impatience of his partner

"You should know" he explained "during night time no one dares to throw their lines in the water. Therefore, the more fishes for us…"

"I don't wonder why" the other man complained "Anyway, this is genius. One day it will be uncommon to fish during night time!"

"Stop heckling already!" the captain cut him short "No wonder why haven't caught anything so far if you don't stop crying out…"

"Jeez!" the other man puffed as he focused back on his fishing rod.

The captain stood back on his seat reeling the line to check if the bait was still on the hook. Maybe a fish had sneaked up while he was asleep and had carefully eaten the lure around the hook. The bait, though, was still in its place.

He stood up and proceeded to the caboose to see if there was a better lure still in the store. One more try before returning to port before the fog would have made sailing hazardous

"Hey, I'm going down to check if we have anything better to give these goddamn fishes!"

"I'll shout out if anything happens" the man replied

The captain nodded and walked downstairs. He opened a drawer and checked through the boxes if he could find anything suitable to catch something to at least eat dinner that night.

A thud diverted his attention. It came from starboard. The captain rushed on deck, aroused by the excited yells of his crew mate

"Damn you and your goddamn mouth of yours" the captain grunted, stepping up on the deck "What's so exciting now? Did you manage to tie the laces of your shoes by yourself?"

"Oh, you" the man countered, then he pointed to the side of the boat "I think something got tangled in the net!"

"Well, might as well take a look…" the captain concluded, pulling a lever. A clanking noise erupted from the winch next to the mast as the net was pulled upwards. It actually contained a bulk of dark matter, all covered in algae

"Let's hope it's not a stinking, rotten carcass or we can kiss our dinner goodbye"

"Just cook it and it will be fine!"

"Damn you are sure disgusting…"

The net was positioned over the deck. The hook snapped, letting it fall to the deck, opened.

The crewmember, as seasoned and as husky as they appeared, could not prevent themselves from screaming out loud as they never had before.

Among the chunks of algae, there was a corpse.

It had to be a male, the captain somehow could tell. The skin was pale and munched to bits. The eyes were dull and staring in front. It still wore a khaki uniform with the ranks of admiral of the WRO Naval Service.

The captain rushed to the radio to call out for help, before his legs could abandon him.

His crew mate sought a place to sit. Since there were any, he simply collapsed to the ground.

The lights on board the trawler suddenly went off. The captain hooked to the radio trying to broadcast on a frequency frantically twitching the knobs.

Meanwhile, more corpses were coming afloat around the boat.


	5. Shera

_SHERA_

1.

Cade thought he was doomed.

Since they had took off from Wutai, Cid and Yuffie had engaged in an endless stream of conversation about family matters, war time stories, common friends not seen in ages plus a wide range of assorted topics. He could tell that the friendship between these twos dated back quite a long time ago.

Cade felt cut off for like five hours. At least he could get some sleep, although the seats in the cockpit of the _Shera_ were not really that comfortable. Abandoning the two of them to retreat and lay down in a bunk would have been too rude, even if that meant staying away from the storm of words coming out from the ninja's mouth.

As he had slipped into a state of semi-conscience, he somehow found himself thinking of Yuffie. Sure the circumstances of their first encounter had been bizarre. She was not that bad, physically speaking. She was actually quite pretty. He concluded that, had she not had that nasty temperament and a fondness for useless chatter, he could have gotten along pretty well with the princess of Wutai. Anyway, that was a purely business-oriented partnership, a one off collaboration. Once the whole affair about the Mako Singularity would have been over, he would have forgot about her and be back to his own life. To his very own solitary and lonely life.

'And then' he added to himself 'the Princess of Wutai, meddling with someone like me? Unrealistic'

He quietly laughed at the absurd situation he had just envisioned in his mind

"Hey there, Morpheus!" Cid called at him "What's so funny? Care to make us laugh too?"

Cade slowly opened his eyes. He yawned stretching his limbs

"Goddamn you Cid!" he protested "I was having a great dream: I was in Costa del Sol, resting my poor, achy bones on a beach…"

"Surrounded by beautiful girls, I bet…" Yuffie added

"Yeah, but unlike you, they kept their mouth shut!"

Yuffie was caught by surprise. Cid laughed. She puffed in resignation "Oh Maker, there we go again!"

"Don't worry!" Cade assured her "Once we land on Edge, we'll have to behave like lovely husband-and-wife, for the sake of everyone"

"Shove it up your ass!" Yuffie exclaimed "I'm a professional, unlike you!"

"And that means…" Cade said

"And that means that I'll put business before everything else, even if that will mean having to partner to a fucking moth like you!"

"Ha!" Cade laughed "We're good to go, I see"

Cid opened his mouth in disbelief "Jeez, Yuffie! I though you had developed manners back in Wutai!" Cade cackled

Yuffie blushed "Well, there's nothing wrong with spitting a bad word or two every now and then…" she paused "Would you prefer me to disembowel him right away, maybe?"

Cid shook his head "Not really! Listen, I know you have your reason to be so quarrelsome to each other, but I'd suggest you to sign a truce. There will be matters to discuss on Edge, and they will be very, frigging important"

"Sounds a deal to me" Cade pondered

"Yeah, whatever…" Yuffie accepted

"See? Easiest thing in the world…" Cid turned to Cade "By the way Cade, you still have to tell me about the shootout…"

"Nope!" Cade swap a finger in the air "You're gonna tell it to Reeve and the old man is going to have a heartache! And lecture me about not messing up things when they are easy enough to be solved with a sweet talk"

"Sounds like you've been close to death again…" Cid examined

"I'll tell it to you when we'll get drunk. I promise!" Cade assured him

Cid laughed

Yuffie made herself comfortable on her seat. So there she was, again on the frontline to save the world. Although she was still oblivious about the details of her tasks ahead, she could sense the matter had to be of the utmost importance if Reeve had resorted to her help once again. Then again, she thought, if he had to send someone like Cade, his nephew as far as she had been told, the situation had to be desperate. She briefly paused her eyes on him. He was good-looking, overall, to be honest. But his recklessness was something that really did not resonate with her

'Oh, listen. Yuffie Kissaragi. The one who plans and thinks twice (not true, just being sarcastic…) before acting is despising someone for being too reckless… then what?' she thought. She sighed, as she realized that whatever she was going to be ordered to do by the WRO, chances were that she would have probably have to do it together with that guy. Better to do it soon and quickly then.

"How long to Edge, Cid?" Cade asked

"Two hours more" he replied

"Good news" he said, as he tried to slumber back in his seat

"Are you really going to sleep again?" Yuffie protested

"Not that I really slept back then" Cade noticed "You were stream-talking like a river!"

"Oh, sorry. I'll be quiet" she scoffed

"I had a couple of rough days, you know?" Cade explained "A bit more of sleep never really hurt anyone…"

Yuffie shrugged

"You seem to be at a loss, Yuffie" Cid observed

"Me?" Yuffie shifted her attention to the pilot "Well, no, not really. I'm just eager to know why Reeve needs me again"

Cid twisted his fingers, which cracked loudly

"Reeve ordered me not to give anything away… but since it is you…" he conceded

"Yep! C'mon. Tell me!" Yuffie spurred him

"According to our scientists" Cid explained "The world is about to end again!"

"The world is about to end? What do you mean?" Yuffie asked, puzzled by Cid's revelation

"Apparently, and this is what I've understood, the Mako in the atmosphere has been gathered in just one point in space and it's about to explode. That's it…"

"Gathered? By who?"

"Sorry, it's not like someone is amassing it. The whole things is happening apparently because of the way the universe works"

"What would that mean?" Yuffie further enquired

"It's happening because it's happening" Cid replied "No freaks or otherworldly assholes messing with us or the world, this time"

Yuffie hardly processed the information. So that was it, Gaia could not be left in peace. First it was Meteor, then the Geostigma Crisis and then the Deepground Conflict. Was it going to end somehow? Of course yes, if nobody did nothing. And Yuffie was probably being given the chance to do just that

"You don't seem too much worried, don't you?" Cid asked

"It's not the first time the world is about to end" the ninja quite calmly explained "And every time we stepped in it always ended up for good. That's something to take into account, I think"

Cid laughed "That's some kind of optimism!"

Yuffie smiled "But then the next question is: what can we do to prevent it?" she asked "I mean, what can I personally do? It's not like we're dealing with a monster here, as you said. It's something bigger than us…"

"Reeve has got his plans" Cid explained "Apparently you fit in them"

Yuffie grew perplexed

"But how long the WRO knew about the threat?"

"A couple of weeks, more or less…"

"Have they disclosed anything to the public?"

"Not yet"

"I have the feeling the will be forced to do it soon!" Cade voice came in. Yuffie turned towards the seat where he had last tried to fall asleep, but he wasn't there. He was standing next to a porthole and gazing outside

"What?" Yuffie asked

"See that for yourself" Cade told her. Yuffie watched outside through a window. She opened her mouth in awe.

The dark, night sky was criss-crossed by wide, spindled, bright green streaks that all seemed to converge in a point beyond the horizon..

Even Cid temporarily forgot about the airship to gaze at that spectacular sight.

Cade noticed that the streaks were not still, but they seemed to pulsate, like the line on the chunk of Mako he had found in the desert.

He and Cid exchanged a worried look

"What is that?" Yuffie managed to ask, still stuck to that vision

"The beginning of the end…" Cid muttered

"People are going to panic!" Cade murmured

"Goddamit! Can you explain me what that thing over there is?" Yuffie shouted

"It's the Mako in the atmosphere" Cade explained "It's reaching critic levels and now it's being sucked towards the Singularity"

"And what is this Singularity?" Yuffie asked again

"A point in space where the Mako is converging" Cade further explained

"You were paying attention during the briefing, huh?" Cid sarcastically remarked

"Remarkably yes, my attention spawn is growing longer…"

"It looks like the aurora" Yuffie noticed, still marvelling at that breath-taking yet dooming scenery.

The trio stood there watching the skies above them. An alarm on the head up display recalled Cid to his duties as a pilot.

"What is that?" Cade asked

"Apparently nothing" Cid replied "A faulty battery pack in the engine flow modulator. Maybe if I just exclude it…"

Cid could not even turn the switch that all the cockpit plunged into darkness.

The occupants could not even have time to express surprise because something more serious and even more noticeable happened.

The _Shera_ fell silent and plunged to the ground. With the momentum it had gained because of its speed, it managed to stay afloat for a while but shortly afterwards its nose pointed downwards and started making a steep run towards the ocean

"Cid!" Cade shouted, while slipping next to him on the ground "You don't even remember which buttons you have to press on your ship?"

"It's not that!" Cid told him, while pulling the stick towards him, cursing and swearing but holding his jaw shut.

Yuffie quickly lost her balance and fell on the ground. She ended up legs in the air against a seat next to Cid

"We're going down!" she cried

"Don't worry!" Cid assured them, frantically trying to get the engines back in line "One day my ship will slightly kiss the ground, but that won't be today!"

At some point during the descent, lights came back in the cockpit. A thundering noised told everyone that Cid had managed to re-start the engine. The _Shera_ slowly but finally levelled, coming to a stationary flight just metres above the ocean

"Are you all right?" Cid asked

"I guess…" Cade replied, getting back on his feet

"Argh…" Yuffie complained "I think my leg is stuck somewhere"

"Hold on" Cade reached to her as Cid ran through the displays on the dashboard to perform a diagnostic check on the airship.

He knelt beside her

"Uhm, wait a second…" he concluded, before pulling a lever and raising the seat enough to let Yuffie free her foot

"Thank the Maker you were still wearing your boots. These hardware are rusted…" Cade observed

"Hey, my ship doesn't have to win a beauty pageant, goddamit!" Cid protested

"It simply has to keep us afloat, right? What happened?" Cade asked, as he helped Yuffie get back on her feet

"Thank you" she uttered, still trying to get back in one peace after the shock of finding herself on a plunging ship in the sky

"Oh, you're welcome" Cade quietly replied, surprised by the fit of gratitude of the ninja princess

'She must have banged her head' he concluded

"Unbelievable" Cid thought out loud, surprised "It is like if the ship suddenly refused to be turned on. Damn _Shera…"_

"Oh, I see what you did there…" Cade joked

"That's not the time for joking around. We nearly plunged into the ocean" Yuffie protested

"Excuse me if we are still alive…" Cade surrendered

"And now everything seems to be nominal again. Like wife, like airship…" Cid grinned

"See? No point in being offended. He's the first to poke fun at that" Cade told Yuffie, who rolled her eyes upward

An alarm went off

"Now what?" Yuffie sighed

"Relax!" Cid told her "It's the Emergency Broadcasting Alert. There's a message right from the WRO Headquarters"

Cade stood at these words

"I have a bad feeling about this…" he suggested

Seconds later, a voice echoed through the cockpit

"People aboard the _Shera,_ can you read me?" the voice asked

Cade and Yuffie both recognized it. It was the voice of Reeve Tuesti

"Yes Sir, Reeve!" Cid replied "Reading loud and clear!"

"Thank Heaven!" the voice sighed in relief "You will pardon me if I will be thorough this time but you must get back here in Edge as soon as you can!"

"Reeve, what's happening? Our airship nearly killed us in the middle of the ocean…" Cade stepped in

"Cade? Is that you? You sound fine. Godo Kissaragi told me you faltered on a nasty business back there in Wutai"

"Don't worry. I'm a diplomat in my spare time…"

Reeve laughed "Great to hear that! Anyway…" he continued "…here in Edge half of the population is on the streets after a blackout"

"A blackout?" the trio exclaimed altogether

"Of course, if you think that these events are a mere coincidence, you are free to do that but that won't help…"

"Wait a second Reeve!" Yuffie intervened

"Ah, Yuffie!" Reeve greeted her "It's nice to hear from you. Sorry, we'll have plenty of time to talk. Thanks in advance for joining us!"

"Your beloved nephew gave me no options…" she pointed out

Reeve shortly laughed at Yuffie's words "Well, as I said, we'll have plenty of time to talk about it together!"

"What a buddy-fucker" Cade shook his head

"So the blackout in Edge and our nearly avoided crash… are these events linked together?" Cid asked

"Yes. And there is way more. I'll tell you more here at the HQ. Be here fast!"

"Sure!" Cid replied, as the communication was cut "Have you heard? Let's get back on march!" he enthusiastically chimed, as he sat back on his station

"Are you going to get to sleep again?" Yuffie asked Cade

"Oh, no. I don't wanna die in my sleep!" Cade answered

"What difference does it make?"

"If I go to the Lifestream and my parents will ask me what was the last thing I saw… well, I can't omit the aghast face of Cid from my tale!" he answered, laughing out

Somehow Yuffie did not get the joke

Even Cid was surprised, rather than tickled by the pun

"What did you just said?" she enquired

"Oh, nothing" Cade dismissed her, realizing his faux pas "I think I'd better get some sleep anyhow" he concluded, trying to get asleep again under the curious look of Yuffie.


	6. Edge

EDGE

1.

The sprawling metropolis of Edge never ceased to amaze Yuffie, despite being deprived of its trademark illumination.

The _Shera_ flew in wide circles over it, as Cid patiently waited for the permission to land, allowing her to marvel at the magnificence of a place raised and kept upright by the will of people who had survived through the disasters and the conflicts which had taken place there. Surely it had grown bigger and bigger since the last time she visited it.

In an instant, she realized she might just had the chance to pay a visit to some old friends she had not seen in quite a long time and who happened to lived right there. Friends whose lives were tangled with the history of that place, just like Yuffie's one. She wondered how they were doing and she resolved to take care of that business as soon as the chance would have appeared.

The only lights were coming from a few places where emergency illumination had been installed in the form of portable floodlights, mainly at crossroads and squares. The streets were surprisingly bright since the vehicles, with no automatic traffic regulations available, got stuck in the evening rush hour and gridlocked the whole city. Moreover, people had resorted to torches to light their way or to provide illumination inside their households. It seemed like the power shortage had forced the citizen of a modern metropolis to revert back to the tools of the Stone Age.

Some other folks had taken the chance to take it to their rooftop and behold at the somehow spectacular sight of the bustling city of Edge all cloaked in darkness or to stargaze at the mysterious phenomenon that took the sky. The two events combined could really have upset some of the most touchy individuals in town.

Luckily for the inhabitants, the brand new Edge General Hospital, in the distance, seemed to be working and still towered the surrounding building with its gleaming white façade. Several other buildings in the distance were still provided with electricity and they were probably the key ones that managed to keep at least the basic services still running.

It was not quite right to say that chaos reigned. But people sure were not having the time of their life. At least without exactly knowing the nature of the green streaks in the sky.

"Look! It's almost pitch black" Yuffie exclaimed, marvelling at the scenery

"Just like Reeve told us" Cid told her "If that in the sky was the aurora borealis it would be quite a romantic scenery"

"Reeve was also telling us that there's someone behind this blackout and our near-death experience with the airship suddenly blacking out as well" Cade observed

"If so it is" Cid though "things are going to get a shitload more complicated than they are at the moment!"

Yuffie turned to Cade "Could really be that there's someone behind it?"

"Well" Cade told her "According to our intelligence division, a paramilitary group has been targeting the WRO since we found out about the Singularity!"

"Who?" Yuffie asked

"The Meteor Purification Movement" Cade explained "They had conducted a sort of small-scale guerrilla war against the WRO in the past few weeks"

"A guerrilla war? But why? Who are these guys?"

"We don't know. It is better to say that we know little about them"

Yuffie paused

"You said… Meteor?" she asked again

"That's right" Cid intervened "That's exactly what you are thinking!"

"Oh, here comes the part of the story where I'm missing…" Cade sighed

"Hey, where were you those days? Hidden underground?" Cid asked, referring to the days when the Meteor summoned by the disgraced SOLDIER Sephirot lingered in the sky above the then-city of Midgar, threatening the whole planet. Yuffie had given her contribution to protect Gaia and her citizen back then, just like Cid, the first of an impressive row of achievements

"I perfectly knew what was going on these days. I was just not on the frontline. Just that!" Cade replied, smiling and opening his arms

"Didn't you say that the WRO had closed the intelligence division down? If so, who's running intelligence right now?" Yuffie pointed out

"Well, somebody must have picked that information, right? An intelligence division or a group of dark suited man smoking cigarettes and wearing sunglasses even during night time. Anyway you want to call them…" Cade answered

"Great answer" she responded, sarcastically. She grew worried when she turned to Cid

"Don't you think that…?" Yuffie tentatively asked

"No way!" Cid replied firmly, before whispering "At least, I hope…"

"What? What are you hoping?" Cade enquired

"Nothing" the mechanic steadfastly cut short "Besides, how many spins into the sky are those punks on the ground going to make us do? I'm running out of goddamn fuel" he complained

"Just fly towards the HQ. they'll pick us up eventually and tell us to land" Cade suggested

Cid toyed with the stick and the _Shera_ glided towards the newly established WRO headquarters, a towering building resembling the old Mako reactors that were the unmistakeable landmark of the then-city of Midgar. It consisted of a main building, modelled like an upstanding artillery bullet surrounded by a ring of secondary buildings, which featured the landing sites, among many other things. It was built on the boundary between the ruins of Midgar and the suburbs of Edge.

"Airship _Shera_ " a voice came through the radio "Cleared to land on pad 7-S. Follow the beacon at your 030 degrees"

"Oh, at last! Copy that!" Cid replied with signs of relief. He tilted the stick so as to turn the airship towards the assigned landing pad. Cid oriented the searchlight onboard the ship in order to illuminate the tarmac.

He gradually closed the throttle while the _Shera_ gently descended almost vertically. Once the lskids touched the ground, the engines came to a complete halt.

A squad of WRO personnel surrounded the ship. Cid, Cade and Yuffie made their way to the hatch and descended among plumes of smoke from the exhausts of the hydraulic system of the ship cooling off.

A man with the customary grey WRO uniform came towards them running

"Greetings, Sirs! Cade, nice to see you back at the headquarters!" the man told them, hastily saluting and trying to catch his breath "Sorry if we may seem lacking of any regards to you, but we are in a frenzy. The situation had escalated in a short time …"

"I heard of and saw the blackout! And by the way, nice to see you too, Evan!" Cade exchange the greeting , patting the man on the shoulder

"I heard about the operation in the Mythril Desert, Cade. If anyone was capable of pulling that off, you had to be the only one crazy enough to do it all by yourself!" Evan laughed, then he turned to Cid "Cid, sorry for making you wait up in the air! Unfortunately, we had to run double checks on anything coming close to the HQ!"

Evan Kallstrom, a WRO Major, was acquainted with Cid and Cade, having worked on several mission with them. He was a spirited guy not much older than Cade, a down-tuned version of Cade himself, as Cid once portrayed him. Now he was a liaison officer within the headquarters, with the task of coordinating the field activities of the WRO

"Pardoned" Cid conceded "…this time!"

"Good! I won't pull my luck, then" Evan nodded "And you must be Lady Yuffie Kissaragi!"

"Please call me just Yuffie!" the ninja implored "It's good to be back in Edge. This headquarters is brand new, though!"

"Precisely" Evan confirmed "We built it at record time after the Deepground Conflict. I personally think it serves better the dual mission of our organization"

"Like what?" Yuffie asked

"Supervising infrastructures and services like healthcare and public order. Take this blackout: we had to deploy 8 battalions of the Peace Force to look after the townspeople of Edge. The blackout somehow came along with those things in the sky!" he said, pointing upwards

"Where there any accidents?" Yuffie asked

"Surprisingly not" the WRO officer shook his head "Our call centre was flooded with calls from scared citizen but, apart from a few episodes of burglary, the situation in town is stable. Anyway, we are pleased to have you back, Yuffie"

Yuffie smiled

"So, what's our plan now, Evan?" Cade asked

"What? Reeve did not tell you already?" Evan replied

Cade shook his head "We are not that intimate, unfortunately!"

"Guess I've underestimated how tight-lipped he can be. Then wait for a minute or two and you'll have all the answers you need"

"All the answers?" Cade questioned

Evan sighed "Please Cade, have I ever let you down?"

"At all, Evan" Cade replied "At all!"

"Then relax. Things are going to be hectic from now on. Better cut some slack when you have the chance"

The trio was escorted outside the landing area. They were brought in front of an indoor security checkpoint after passing through a hangar door.

"Now everyone" the WRO officer explained "The blackout isn't our only concern. As I told you before, we had to step up our security measures. I hope you don't mind that… Lady Kissaragi, I mean Yuffie" the man pointed at the shuriken fastened to Yuffie's back "I think you have to give that thing in…"

"What? No way I'm going to separate from it. What if someone mishandles it?" Yuffie protested

Cade stepped forward, before the argument regarding the feasibility of carrying around a weapon like that in a place where people were already quite concerned about strangers carrying unconcealed weapons escalated into a brawl

"Evan, I vouch for her. Let her keep her toy" he finally offered

Evan stood there thinking for a while

"Well then. If you say so, Cade…" he made a gesture to the guards next to an array of body scanners and metal detectors. The guards stepped aside

"Yuffie, you should thank your friend here. Normally only security personnel is allowed to retain their weapons. But Cade here is quite the man…"

"Oh, I don't think she'll do that soon" Cid laughed

Yuffie rolled her eyes upwards "Just don't call this a toy, won't you?"

Evan made a confused look on his face. Cade shook his head.

The WRO officer took them to a security booth. He made a gesture to the men inside it. Three badges came out from a slot beneath a bullet-proof window

"These are your personal badges" he explained holding three plasticized cards in front of them "Be sure to have them with you every second you spend inside here. Otherwise I think things are not going to turn out nice, no matter if your uncle is the master of puppets!"

"I reckon that" Cade said, as he looked around the quarter leading to the lift shaft. At every corner stood at least two WRO soldiers, all well-armed.

"You were not joking when you said that security is tight here inside" Cid noted "I bet even the vending machines are guarded"

"Somebody is bothered by the disappearance of the Sangaria cans!" Evan joked, then he turned stern again "Seriously, when you will hear the briefing, you may want to think that they still are inadequate"

"Is the situation so desperate?" Cade asked, alarmed

"A blackout in the middle of a planetary emergency is enough worrying to deploy an army just to guard a block party, if that would be of help!"

The group proceeded towards the elevators. They went through a curtain of guards and other security checkpoints before entering the lift and riding towards the very last level of the main tower.

"Are we going to be briefed straight away?" Yuffie asked

"Well, it's just a matter of minutes" Evan explained "I'll be speaking myself so as you can tell, allow yourself a couple of minutes"

"If you had to speak why did you come to pick us up, then?" Cade asked

"Somebody told me to"

"Who?" Cid asked

"Reeve thought that if I had taken you to the briefing room, that would have made you save some time" Evan explained "Passing through the security checks and all"

"And I thought I was still a trusted figure inside here" Cade sighed

"Looks like being uncle's little boy on our side doesn't pay that much…" Yuffie poked him

"Ah, bite me!" he scoffed

Yuffie frowned upon his reply. The lift came to a halt

"We're here" Evan announced

"What? No voice on the PA announcing the floor?" Cade asked, seemingly surprised "Can't we get enough funds to fit our escalators with that kind of hardware?"

Evan rolled his eyes

"Is he always like that?" Yuffie asked

"Sometimes he's even worse" Evan explained "but somehow most of us still love him. And not just because we're afraid he could spy on us on behalf of his uncle!"

"I would lie about a murder if that meant I could still look my beloved colleagues in the face!" Cade chuckled, as he followed Evan to the entrance to the briefing room.


	7. Eden

EDGE

1.

The sprawling metropolis of Edge never ceased to amaze Yuffie, despite being deprived of its trademark illumination.

The _Shera_ flew in wide circles over it, as Cid patiently waited for the permission to land, allowing her to marvel at the magnificence of a place raised and kept upright by the will of people who had survived through the disasters and the conflicts which had taken place there. Surely it had grown bigger and bigger since the last time she visited it.

In an instant, she realized she might just had the chance to pay a visit to some old friends she had not seen in quite a long time and who happened to lived right there. Friends whose lives were tangled with the history of that place, just like Yuffie's one. She wondered how they were doing and she resolved to take care of that business as soon as the chance would have appeared.

The only lights were coming from a few places where emergency illumination had been installed in the form of portable floodlights, mainly at crossroads and squares. The streets were surprisingly bright since the vehicles, with no automatic traffic regulations available, got stuck in the evening rush hour and gridlocked the whole city. Moreover, people had resorted to torches to light their way or to provide illumination inside their households. It seemed like the power shortage had forced the citizen of a modern metropolis to revert back to the tools of the Stone Age.

Some other folks had taken the chance to take it to their rooftop and behold at the somehow spectacular sight of the bustling city of Edge all cloaked in darkness or to stargaze at the mysterious phenomenon that took the sky. The two events combined could really have upset some of the most touchy individuals in town.

Luckily for the inhabitants, the brand new Edge General Hospital, in the distance, seemed to be working and still towered the surrounding building with its gleaming white façade. Several other buildings in the distance were still provided with electricity and they were probably the key ones that managed to keep at least the basic services still running.

It was not quite right to say that chaos reigned. But people sure were not having the time of their life. At least without exactly knowing the nature of the green streaks in the sky.

"Look! It's almost pitch black" Yuffie exclaimed, marvelling at the scenery

"Just like Reeve told us" Cid told her "If that in the sky was the aurora borealis it would be quite a romantic scenery"

"Reeve was also telling us that there's someone behind this blackout and our near-death experience with the airship suddenly blacking out as well" Cade observed

"If so it is" Cid though "things are going to get a shitload more complicated than they are at the moment!"

Yuffie turned to Cade "Could really be that there's someone behind it?"

"Well" Cade told her "According to our intelligence division, a paramilitary group has been targeting the WRO since we found out about the Singularity!"

"Who?" Yuffie asked

"The Meteor Purification Movement" Cade explained "They had conducted a sort of small-scale guerrilla war against the WRO in the past few weeks"

"A guerrilla war? But why? Who are these guys?"

"We don't know. It is better to say that we know little about them"

Yuffie paused

"You said… Meteor?" she asked again

"That's right" Cid intervened "That's exactly what you are thinking!"

"Oh, here comes the part of the story where I'm missing…" Cade sighed

"Hey, where were you those days? Hidden underground?" Cid asked, referring to the days when the Meteor summoned by the disgraced SOLDIER Sephirot lingered in the sky above the then-city of Midgar, threatening the whole planet. Yuffie had given her contribution to protect Gaia and her citizen back then, just like Cid, the first of an impressive row of achievements

"I perfectly knew what was going on these days. I was just not on the frontline. Just that!" Cade replied, smiling and opening his arms

"Didn't you say that the WRO had closed the intelligence division down? If so, who's running intelligence right now?" Yuffie pointed out

"Well, somebody must have picked that information, right? An intelligence division or a group of dark suited man smoking cigarettes and wearing sunglasses even during night time. Anyway you want to call them…" Cade answered

"Great answer" she responded, sarcastically. She grew worried when she turned to Cid

"Don't you think that…?" Yuffie tentatively asked

"No way!" Cid replied firmly, before whispering "At least, I hope…"

"What? What are you hoping?" Cade enquired

"Nothing" the mechanic steadfastly cut short "Besides, how many spins into the sky are those punks on the ground going to make us do? I'm running out of goddamn fuel" he complained

"Just fly towards the HQ. they'll pick us up eventually and tell us to land" Cade suggested

Cid toyed with the stick and the _Shera_ glided towards the newly established WRO headquarters, a towering building resembling the old Mako reactors that were the unmistakeable landmark of the then-city of Midgar. It consisted of a main building, modelled like an upstanding artillery bullet surrounded by a ring of secondary buildings, which featured the landing sites, among many other things. It was built on the boundary between the ruins of Midgar and the suburbs of Edge.

"Airship _Shera_ " a voice came through the radio "Cleared to land on pad 7-S. Follow the beacon at your 030 degrees"

"Oh, at last! Copy that!" Cid replied with signs of relief. He tilted the stick so as to turn the airship towards the assigned landing pad. Cid oriented the searchlight onboard the ship in order to illuminate the tarmac.

He gradually closed the throttle while the _Shera_ gently descended almost vertically. Once the lskids touched the ground, the engines came to a complete halt.

A squad of WRO personnel surrounded the ship. Cid, Cade and Yuffie made their way to the hatch and descended among plumes of smoke from the exhausts of the hydraulic system of the ship cooling off.

A man with the customary grey WRO uniform came towards them running

"Greetings, Sirs! Cade, nice to see you back at the headquarters!" the man told them, hastily saluting and trying to catch his breath "Sorry if we may seem lacking of any regards to you, but we are in a frenzy. The situation had escalated in a short time …"

"I heard of and saw the blackout! And by the way, nice to see you too, Evan!" Cade exchange the greeting , patting the man on the shoulder

"I heard about the operation in the Mythril Desert, Cade. If anyone was capable of pulling that off, you had to be the only one crazy enough to do it all by yourself!" Evan laughed, then he turned to Cid "Cid, sorry for making you wait up in the air! Unfortunately, we had to run double checks on anything coming close to the HQ!"

Evan Kallstrom, a WRO Major, was acquainted with Cid and Cade, having worked on several mission with them. He was a spirited guy not much older than Cade, a down-tuned version of Cade himself, as Cid once portrayed him. Now he was a liaison officer within the headquarters, with the task of coordinating the field activities of the WRO

"Pardoned" Cid conceded "…this time!"

"Good! I won't pull my luck, then" Evan nodded "And you must be Lady Yuffie Kissaragi!"

"Please call me just Yuffie!" the ninja implored "It's good to be back in Edge. This headquarters is brand new, though!"

"Precisely" Evan confirmed "We built it at record time after the Deepground Conflict. I personally think it serves better the dual mission of our organization"

"Like what?" Yuffie asked

"Supervising infrastructures and services like healthcare and public order. Take this blackout: we had to deploy 8 battalions of the Peace Force to look after the townspeople of Edge. The blackout somehow came along with those things in the sky!" he said, pointing upwards

"Where there any accidents?" Yuffie asked

"Surprisingly not" the WRO officer shook his head "Our call centre was flooded with calls from scared citizen but, apart from a few episodes of burglary, the situation in town is stable. Anyway, we are pleased to have you back, Yuffie"

Yuffie smiled

"So, what's our plan now, Evan?" Cade asked

"What? Reeve did not tell you already?" Evan replied

Cade shook his head "We are not that intimate, unfortunately!"

"Guess I've underestimated how tight-lipped he can be. Then wait for a minute or two and you'll have all the answers you need"

"All the answers?" Cade questioned

Evan sighed "Please Cade, have I ever let you down?"

"At all, Evan" Cade replied "At all!"

"Then relax. Things are going to be hectic from now on. Better cut some slack when you have the chance"

The trio was escorted outside the landing area. They were brought in front of an indoor security checkpoint after passing through a hangar door.

"Now everyone" the WRO officer explained "The blackout isn't our only concern. As I told you before, we had to step up our security measures. I hope you don't mind that… Lady Kissaragi, I mean Yuffie" the man pointed at the shuriken fastened to Yuffie's back "I think you have to give that thing in…"

"What? No way I'm going to separate from it. What if someone mishandles it?" Yuffie protested

Cade stepped forward, before the argument regarding the feasibility of carrying around a weapon like that in a place where people were already quite concerned about strangers carrying unconcealed weapons escalated into a brawl

"Evan, I vouch for her. Let her keep her toy" he finally offered

Evan stood there thinking for a while

"Well then. If you say so, Cade…" he made a gesture to the guards next to an array of body scanners and metal detectors. The guards stepped aside

"Yuffie, you should thank your friend here. Normally only security personnel is allowed to retain their weapons. But Cade here is quite the man…"

"Oh, I don't think she'll do that soon" Cid laughed

Yuffie rolled her eyes upwards "Just don't call this a toy, won't you?"

Evan made a confused look on his face. Cade shook his head.

The WRO officer took them to a security booth. He made a gesture to the men inside it. Three badges came out from a slot beneath a bullet-proof window

"These are your personal badges" he explained holding three plasticized cards in front of them "Be sure to have them with you every second you spend inside here. Otherwise I think things are not going to turn out nice, no matter if your uncle is the master of puppets!"

"I reckon that" Cade said, as he looked around the quarter leading to the lift shaft. At every corner stood at least two WRO soldiers, all well-armed.

"You were not joking when you said that security is tight here inside" Cid noted "I bet even the vending machines are guarded"

"Somebody is bothered by the disappearance of the Sangaria cans!" Evan joked, then he turned stern again "Seriously, when you will hear the briefing, you may want to think that they still are inadequate"

"Is the situation so desperate?" Cade asked, alarmed

"A blackout in the middle of a planetary emergency is enough worrying to deploy an army just to guard a block party, if that would be of help!"

The group proceeded towards the elevators. They went through a curtain of guards and other security checkpoints before entering the lift and riding towards the very last level of the main tower.

"Are we going to be briefed straight away?" Yuffie asked

"Well, it's just a matter of minutes" Evan explained "I'll be speaking myself so as you can tell, allow yourself a couple of minutes"

"If you had to speak why did you come to pick us up, then?" Cade asked

"Somebody told me to"

"Who?" Cid asked

"Reeve thought that if I had taken you to the briefing room, that would have made you save some time" Evan explained "Passing through the security checks and all"

"And I thought I was still a trusted figure inside here" Cade sighed

"Looks like being uncle's little boy on our side doesn't pay that much…" Yuffie poked him

"Ah, bite me!" he scoffed

Yuffie frowned upon his reply. The lift came to a halt

"We're here" Evan announced

"What? No voice on the PA announcing the floor?" Cade asked, seemingly surprised "Can't we get enough funds to fit our escalators with that kind of hardware?"

Evan rolled his eyes

"Is he always like that?" Yuffie asked

"Sometimes he's even worse" Evan explained "but somehow most of us still love him. And not just because we're afraid he could spy on us on behalf of his uncle!"

"I would lie about a murder if that meant I could still look my beloved colleagues in the face!" Cade chuckled, as he followed Evan to the entrance to the briefing room.

2.

The briefing room was a giant hall, wide and high. The audience was hosted on stalls facing a podium towered by a giant screen behind it. The personnel summoned to take part to the briefing was flowing from all the entrances. A line of guards formed a line between the seats and the stage.

Amongst the faces of the WRO personnel crowding the hall and already taking their place on the seats, Cade spotted a familiar one. He raised a hand as his eyes met the ones of a blonde girl whose hairs were collected in a ponytail.

Cade walked towards her

"Kayla" he greeted her "Nice to see you again!"

"Cade" the girl replied reaching for him and hugging him. Cade slightly blushed as he did not expect such gesture, especially in the briefing room of the WRO headquarters. Kayla somehow sensed his stiffness "Is everything all right?" she frowned

"Me? No, at all! I mean… I'm all right. I've just had a tense journey back from Wutai" Cade told her with a smile

"Wutai?" the girl marvelled

"Oh, sorry" Cade brought a hand to his head "I didn't tell you. After our operation in the desert I was sent to Wutai straight away for a side mission"

"A side mission?" Kayla asked again

"Oh, it's a long story. Maybe next time we hang out I'll tell you"

"It would be great!" Kayla exclaimed, smiling "Unfortunately, I don't think they are going to give us some time off. At least not until this mess will end…" she meekly said

"Did you witness the black-out?"

"Of course!" Kayla nodded "And those Mako currents in the sky almost simultaneously!"

"Mako currents?" Cade enquired

"That's how we call them" Kayla explained "Since they first appeared some hours ago, we established a direct communication channel with the Cosmo Canyon observatory. According to our scientist, it's a sign we are getting closer to the Singularity"

"I'm not surprised everyone here is in a frantic mood!" Cade observed

"And there is more!" Kayla told him

"More?" Cade questioned

"Apparently the MPM is behind the power outage. And there are rumours that they had done something more…" she explained "But maybe the high brasses are going to make all things clear now. At least to us!"

"It would be the least they could do…" Cade noted

"I beg you pardon but isn't your surname 'Tuesti'?" she joked

"Apparently I'm not entitled to the full disclosure of facts. Not by virtue of blood, it seems" Cade explained, smiling

"Nice to see you're still one of ours" Kayla replied, patting him on the arm

"But I am one of yours. I mean, I still can get killed by a bullet or the claws of a beast I mean…" Cade said

"I see…" a mask of apprehension briefly passed over Kayla's cheerful visage. She briefly tight her lips

"Have I said something wrong?" Cade asked her, noticing her apparent distress

"What? No, no!" Kayla quickly replied

"Hey, don't worry!" Cade reassured her "I promise you'll have the pleasure to be accompanied at the WRO Grand Ball by none the less than the nephew of its founder and director… that is me! Before the world ends, agreed!" he swore, hand on his chest

Kayla chuckled "I doubt the WRO has ever held a Grand Ball before, but I graciously accept your invitation!"

"I'm just here waiting for someone to shout 'Hey we fucked everything up! The world is going to end again! Go back to your families or do whatever you wanted to do' and such" Cade told her "So maybe we can have our private prom right when the world is literally crumbling under our feet"

Kayla laughed again. Cade found himself surprisingly fond of that laughter. Somehow he started wishing that he could actually have the chance to spend some time with her. Without talking about assignments, missions or anything pertaining to their respective jobs. Just two human beings enjoying the warmth of a relationship.

'Just like it happened with _her_ ' he recalled. He painfully recalled, might add. The remembrance briefly shook his smile.

'Then why do I act like I have to hide something from her?' he thought to himself 'Cid is right: she is literally throwing herself into my arms. Well, more or less…'

"Anyway" Kayla continued "What did you had to do in Wutai to forsake your last chance of catching some breathe?"

Cade was about to reply but Yuffie's squeaky voice, coming from behind him, spared him this task

"Oh, sorry Cade" the ninja apologized, in a sly tone "Have I interrupted something?"

Cade had to fight against the sudden and unbridled impulse to choke the princess of Wutai, right there in front of probably a hundred witnesses

"At all" he calmly replied, instead "Kayla, this is Yuffie Kissaragi. Princess of Wutai and former head of the Intelligence Division of the WRO" he solemnly explained

Yuffie slightly frowned at Cade's portrayal. She shook her hand with the WRO scientist

"A princess? I doubt a simple handshake will do then…" Kayla told her

"Don't worry" Yuffie assured her "I'm not too fond of reverences"

"She's not too fond of her role as a princess either" Cade joked

"Fuck you, Cade!" Yuffie exclaimed, almost immediately shutting her mouth with her hand. Thank the Maker the crowd inside the hall was making enough chatters to cover her swearing

Kayla laughed "I swear she is nowhere near as a princess, honestly" she observed

"I told you" Yuffie said, quite embarrassed. She swiftly regained her composure as she addressed to Cade again "Why don't you introduce me your friend instead of tricking me into making people believe I'm the daughter of a shore man?"

"Whops, my fault!" Cade apologized "Yuffie, meet Captain Kayla Walker, member of the scientific staff of the WRO. Kayla, meet Yuffie Kissaragi of the House of Shinobi., former head of the Intelligence Division of the WRO "

Yuffie smiled at the blonde girl. Although sternly wrapped in the greyish WRO daily uniform, the ninja could sense that Kayla emanated a radiant attitude around her. Despite her being so close to Cade, Yuffie felt like she could get along with Kayla pretty well. She also wondered if her and Cade were friends or maybe something more.

'Are you jealous again, Yuffie?' a voice rang inside her. She shook that thought away.

Again, then, Yuffie could not chase away the resemblance she envisioned between Kayla and a girl she had met in her first journey across the world to save Gaia. Same smile and same quietude. She immediately felt a deep although brief fit of grief upon that thought.

"They let you brought that in?" Kayla pointed at the shuriken strapped to Yuffie's back

"Oh, someone put a word or two…" Cade vaguely explained

"Don't act like you're the key-holder here" Yuffie countered "Remember that if it wasn't for Evan, we would be still stuck at one of those checkpoints down there"

"I did my best" Cade surrendered. Kayla smiled again at the verbal skirmish between the two of them

"Why do I feel like there's beef between you?" Kayla asked

"How could you say that?" Cade answered, seemingly offended "Yuffie is a valuable asset to the WRO. We might have a divergence over some trivial topics but we are professionals!"

"Okay, I see" Kayla sighed "It's just Cade being Cade…"

"Hallelujah!" Yuffie exulted, hugging Kayla "I think I found my lighthouse of salvation here"

Kayla smiled "Cade is not that bad, once you get to know him! At least he gets his job done"

"The problem is the way it is done…" Yuffie grumped

Cade and Kayla laughed together. Suddenly their laughter was cut short by a harsh and, unfortunately, familiar tune

"Tuesti, interrupting some kind of love affair?"

Cade turned. As he feared, Brad Clawbourne was taking part to the briefing too.

"Brad!" Cade saluted "Nice to see your ankle is doing fine!" he cheered

"You're lucky Tuesti" Brad hissed "I would have made you pay for it if only you did not bail out to Wutai!" the bulky and bullish WRO officer hovered "And I'm not going to raise my arms right here!"

"What happened Brad? Did your father spank you when he found out that you had been a naughty boy?" Cade poked him

Kayla and Yuffie laughed. The latter quite nervously

"Like I give a damn, Tuesti!" Brad concluded. He then turned to Yuffie "Halloween is far away on the calendar, spunk!"

"Not to bad at all" Yuffie promptly replied "I'll have time to convince you to lend me your face as a nice Halloween costume!"

Brad faltered "Ouch, Brad!" Cade intervened "Need an ointment for that burn?" Kayla laughed again.

Brad grumped an turned its back on the trio before vanishing again in the sea of WRO personnel

"Just for the records, who is that chump?" Yuffie asked

"Brad Clawbourne, son of the director of the General Staff of the WRO" Cade explained

Yuffie grinned her teeth, worriedly

"Don't worry!" Kayla told her "He's the black sheep of the flock. Apart from the morons who follow him just because he's the son of a big head no one else would dare to defend him"

Yuffie whistled in relief. She felt compelled to reply to that mountain of muscles and bad intentions but obviously that impulsive behaviour meant the possibility of stepping on the toes of somebody important. She was inside the WRO headquarters, after all.

A chime sounded throughout the hall. It meant that the briefing was about to start

"Luckily for you" Kayla told them "I kept a couple of seats"

"Not in the front row, I hope" Cade asked

"I know you, Cade" Kayla assured him

"Where's Cid, by the way?" Yuffie asked as they approached their places

"I'm here!" the grumpy voice of the mechanic came behind her, muffled by the toothpick dangling form the corner of his mouth. He reached for his seat

"Where have you been? Buying popcorns?" Cade joked

"Gone to check some stuff on my own…" Cid simply replied

Cade nodded as the lights in the hall dimmed and the figure of Colonel Zansteid, aide-de-camp of Reeve Tuesti, walked up to the stand on the podium. Reeve itself followed him. The audience froze at the sight of the chief of the World Regenesis Organization, who had come in person to oversee the meeting. Next to him, Adrian Clawbourne was sitting, father of Brad Clawbourne and head of the General Staff of the WRO.

"At ease, people" the colonel ordered, as the attendance sat down "Thanks for being here. I'm glad to see that despite the blackout you all found your way here!"

A stifled laughter came form the audience

"Joke of the century, incoming" Cade quietly said

Yuffie poked him between the ribs

"Anyway" Zansteid continued "The situation has greatly changed and evolved since our last assignment out there in the Mythril Desert. And, unfortunately, not for good"

"The scientific officer will brief you about the phenomenon occurring right in the sky over our head. Surprisingly the population took the apparition of the Mako streaks quite well. Looks like nowadays nothing really scares people that much after all that has happened in the past years. I can anticipate you that the general population has been told that investigations are underway so if anyone of you leaks anything more than what has already been told by the media, you'll have to face the consequences. I know that maybe the world will end eventually, but the passing for those who will break the silence over the matter will not be so comfortable"

Discrete laughters again rose from the audience

"Besides, as the World Regenesis Organization, we have to deal with another side of the story, something more human, I'd say. As you already know our operations revolving around our plan to counter the threat posed by this phenomenon have been slightly hampered by the Meteor Purification Movement, an underground movement which is responsible for minor assaults on our installations and convoys around the world. We had begun a crackdown on those elements already and for a day or two it seemed like it was nothing more of a hay fire… until today!"

Zansteid turned towards the screen, where a picture appeared. It showed a submarine sailing across the sea, emerged

"The _Dragonette_ Gullwing-class submarine here pictured set sail from Junon yesterday. It was sent on a reconnaissance mission over the Corel-Junon Rift, along with a small team of scientists. Its task was to run a series of surveys over an anomaly in the seismic activity. The Gullwing-class submarines are small vessels and at their peak they can withstand a day and a half of solitary navigation. That's why somewhere in the middle of its cruise it was scheduled to meet up with a resupply ship and proceed for the next half of the cruise. Guess what, gentlemen: after the last report we received before the scheduled rendezvous the submarine disappeared from our screens"

A murmur grew between the ranks of the audience. Past a few seconds of silence from Zansteid, the murmur disappeared

"Of course" the Colonel continued "it also failed to appear at the meeting point with the supply ship. Where had it gone, you might ask? Well, the submarine sure has disappeared. We cannot say the same for its crew, though…"

The picture on the screen changed. As the new image appeared, shock and confusion got a grip on the people watching it. The murmur reappeared, only more noisy and animated.

On the screen, lines and lines of body bags were arranged on a surface. Although Zansteid did not explain the contents of the picture, it clearly spoke for itself. The crew of the _Dragonette_ had been murdered and left adrift in the ocean

"Fucking Holy Hell!" Cid exclaimed "They high-jacked a damn submarine and killed all of the crew. This sure raises the fucking bar…"

"But those people are…dead!" Yuffie exclaimed

"Nice discovery" Cade scoffed, amazed at the ninja's naivety

"An entire crew of a submarine gets killed, the world is about to be destroyed and you act like it's no big deal?" Yuffie cried, angrily "What's wrong with you?"

"Just because I don't seem concerned that doesn't mean I'm not giving a fuck!" he calmly explained

"There's more" Zansteid continued, managing to catch the audience's attention once again "The corpses we have found numbered thirty-six plus the five members of the scientific crew. We have one body amiss. Maybe it's still to be retrieved but if my lifelong career taught me something , that thing is to get ready for the worst"

Almost everyone gulped upon these words.

"We have to work united and as a whole, everybody. I won't express myself any further, so I trust your wits to work out what that I'm thinking… what all the Joint Staff is thinking!"

"Mole" Cid told

"This is not good" Kayla thought "And probably there's more than one"

"And after this unpleasant happening" Zansteid continued "A couple of words about the blackout. It was not because of a faulty piece of equipment or a physical assault to a power station. Our IT Security Division confirmed that the electricity grid network manager has been hacked. We went in lockdown mode soon after the blackout took place so we have been sheltered by any attempt at cracking our databases. Additionally, reports indicated that the breach in our IT system included the mainframe of our airships"

Cid nearly jolted upon those words

"Well, it wasn't your fault…" Cade maliciously commented

"Where do you want my knuckles?" Cid nervously retorted, pulling a smile from Yuffie

"Luckily no accidents involving our fleet of airships have occurred. But this act of cyber-terrorism told us one thing: we should get ready to be struck anytime, and a nywhere"

"Optimism, come and hug me!" Cade pled

Kayla briefly laughed "Damn you and your making me laugh even here!"

Yuffie scoffed "It's just plain annoying"

"You whish you had my sense of humour" Cade told the ninja, who just waived her hand

"This is all I've got to tell you" Zansteid concluded "I'll leave my place to Colonel Groundham"

"Groundham?" Cade marvelled "Last time I checked in he was a Major…"

"There's been a spate of promotion recently" Kayla explained "Don't ask me why…"

"Trying to please they key figures. So they don't turn to the other side!" Cid guessed, almost as he had said the first thing that came upon his mind. Cade thought it was a pretty decent guess, though.

Groundham, the same officer who had held the briefing in the compound after the Mythril Desert assignment, exchanged a salute with Zansteid and took the stage

"Good evening, Sirs" he greeted "the Colonel has probably already got you well tired. Since I'll have to explain you the plan the Scientific Department has drawn, I'll try not to get you asleep"

The audience chuckled

"Comedian-of-the-year number two" Cade remarked

"They're just trying to shake the anxiety off" Kayla countered

"And they're doing a great job, I'd say!" he replied "I'm smooth as a pillow right now!"

Kayla laughed again.

'What a pair of love birds' Yuffie thought, again coming to terms with the fact that she might have felt a mote of jealousy again. Although, she liked Kayla's laughter too.

"The situation, put in very plain words" Groundham started "is that the Mako in the atmosphere is concentrating into a mass that, soon enough, will reach a critical density and open up a sort of black hole near the planet. This will result in a massive liberation of energy that will have catastrophic consequences for the life on Gaia as we know it. Moreover, it seems that the Lifestream has been heavily influenced by the Mako piling up in the exosphere"

The image in the background switched again to a series of seismographic charts

"These reading have been collected form different parts of the world in a range of just two days" the officer continued "Earthquakes are rocking the world at an alarming rate. Fortunately for us they are all small scale ones and Edge, as far as we are concerned, is not built on seismic land so the HQ won't be compromised"

"Anyway, after days and days of hard work, we have finally devised a plan to counter the threat of what we have called the Mako Singularity: according to a computer model, we can drive it to an energy level even higher than the one of its critical mass so as it will collapse in itself, greatly reducing the amount of energy liberated in the ensuing explosion. There still will be some consequences here below, such as further modifications of the Mako flows under Gaia's crust, or malfunctions in electronic equipments, but they will be temporary. And by then we will be able to minimize the harm to the population. To sum everything up, our plan is to make the Singularity suck itself up by chucking even more Mako inside it"

"In order to do so, we will need quite a large amount of Mako delivered to the point where the singularity is building up. We are now studying a way to physically deliver it. The Mako will be extracted in the Northern Crater region, where it presents itself in the most convenient form for our purposes…"

"The Northern Crater?" Yuffie exclaimed

"That won't mean that…" Cade enquired, visibly worried

"We will launch an extracting operation from our outpost in Icicle Inn, where the local personnel has already been alerted and is ready to be deployed and welcome us…" Groundham continued briefing

"God, of all places on Gaia!" Cade sulked, grinning his teeth

"What's so bad about it?" Yuffie asked him "Is it because of the awful weather?"

Kayla threw Cade a concerned look. Cid kept his head straight but couldn't help to turn his eyes towards him

"Nothing" Cade cut short "It's just an issue of mine against cold places"

"Well, if so…" Yuffie concluded, focusing her attention back at the briefing

"The mission is of critical importance" Zansteid had regained the stand and had taken back the microphone "Our field and liaison officer Major Evan Kallstrom will explain the details of the operation"

Zansteid stepped down the podium as Evan got a hold of the microphone

"Good evening everyone" he began "Let's take a quick look at our operation in the Crater Region. We'll have to face a plethora of logistical issues and the weather is not nice and all but the Mako collected in that peculiar spot offers the advantages of being easy to extract and to transport"

"We will set up an advanced base exploiting the WRO outpost which lies just north of Icicle Inn, outside the town. From there we will establish a direct link between the theatre and the WRO headquarters. The extraction team will operate directly on site so it is of utmost importance that the designated areas pinpointed on this map behind me will be secured for the entire length of the operation. The MPM will try to strike at us when we will be more vulnerable, and this is probably a golden opportunity for them"

As Evan was talking, images behind him changed following the points of the briefing he was illustrating

"Apart from the advanced base" Evan continued "We will have to establish a secondary outpost to support the extraction team. It will serve as a loading station to load the Mako into the transports that will bring it where we need it. The Scientific Division has already drawn the members of the support team that will run the test on the Mako loads before hauling them to their destination. As far as security is concerned, we have formed a task force directly led by the here present Major Clawbourne"

Brad Clawbourne stood up and turned his shoulders to the stage

"Major?" Cade exclaimed, aghast "This cannot be!"

"Say 'hello' to his dad…" Kayla downheartedly commented

"I've got a bad feeling about this…" Cid muttered

Cade, who was still standing with his head bowed down hidden between his hands, had been hit with two of his worst nightmares: being directly commanded by the worst element in the entire WRO and having to return to a place which did not really harboured pleasant remembrances. He was beginning to sweat cold. He could swore his hands were trembling.

"Are you all right?" Kayla quietly asked him, placing a hand on his shoulder

"Not really" Cade replied, trying to sound joyful. He patted the hand Kayla had placed on his shoulder "But I'll try to soldier on!"

"Come on" Yuffie assured him "He might be an egocentric, immature, dickhead but he won't feud with you in such a delicate circumstance…"

"You know him too little" Cade shook his head

Meanwhile Brad had smiled upon the announcement, greatly pleased. Cade could swore he was menacingly grinning instead.

"You will all receive further details about your assignments on your PHS. This operation will begin in 6 hours from now on. Everyone who is involved in this operation must not leave the headquarters until operation begins, for safety reason. This is a pivotal step towards the resolution of a major catastrophe which is lingering upon us. I urge you to be careful and act at the peak of your potential. That is all!"

As murmurs followed the end of Evan's briefing, Reeve Tuesti himself stood up and walked towards the podium

"Just a couple of words before dismissing the briefing" he said "First and foremost, I want to thank you all for your efforts. One would take your performances and deeds for granted, as you are all WRO members who decided to join on their own will. I'm not one of them. I recognize that behind the work of reconstructing and preserving our world there's the dedication and faith of each and every one of you"

"We have to face once again a challenge" he continued "And this challenge may seem out of our reach. But as long as we will be able to think ahead of our obstacles and as long as we will have the will to put plans into action, we will succeed in our most important mission. Which is to give hope to every person out there even in such fragile times. We have hearts and brains and souls, and they are the best tools we could whish for when carrying out our mission. My wish, on my side, is that each of you will use these tools in the best manner. We have a world to protect. Be aware of that. Good luck everyone!"

As Zansteid officially dismissed the WRO officers, everybody stood briefly up to attention before clearing the seats and crowding the passages to conversate. It took a while for Cade to summon the strength to get up, but he eventually stood up and thought about making a straight line towards his bunk in the sleeping quarters, provided it was the same as it ever was last time.

"Cade, don't leave so soon!" a voice called him. It was Evan

"What now? Do I personally have to trek to the Northern Crater instead of flying there with an airship like the rest of us?"

"No" Evan shook his head "Reeve wants to see you and Yuffie in his office as soon as you can…"

Yuffie turned his head "At last. I'll have the chance to see him, then!" she happily said

"Of course" Cade nodded "Tell him I'm already on my way!"

"Good. Hang on, Cade. It's for the sake of the planet. You'll do good!" Evan chimed as he resumed pursuing his commitments "And check your PHS every now and then, you might end up with a big surprise"

Cade scratched his head

"I'd better go as well" Kayla said "The scientific department will be twice as hectic now. Let's keep in touch, especially you Yuffie!"

"Sure thing!" the ninja cheerfully waived at her

"Do you have any plans after we save the world?" Cade asked, all of a sudden

"Me?" Kayla replied "Well, I guess I have. And guess who they involve…" She winked at him as she walked away. Cade temporarily blushed upon her response

Cid patted him on the back "That's a good start" the mechanic considered

"Well, that surely is easier than saving the world!" Cade said

"Look, you two!" Cid exclaimed "I have to go as well. Might check what those nerds have set up for the upcoming trip. Don't make Reeve wait too long!"

"We won't!" they both replied, as Cid made his way out of the hall.

"So, is there something between you and Kayla?"

Cade stopped right in the middle of the corridor, as Yuffie broke the silence for the first time since they had left the briefing hall, on their way to Reeve's office.

"Me and Kayla?" Cade faltered. Yuffie had soon realize that the relationship between he and the girl was Cade's soft spot. Coupled with her unborn curiosity, it was becoming a battlefield where she could have enjoyed the advantage of playing on the home ground

"Yes, you and her. Who else?" the ninja pressed him, standing still next to him, hands on her hips.

"Well" Cade admitted "We have a sort of friendship…"

"I don't believe you!" Yuffie shoot him down

Cade sighed, letting his arms fall down "All right!" he conceded "We have hanged around a bit in the past, but there's nothing more to it. I swear!" he made clear, hoping that the answer would have satisfied the nose poking princess of Wutai

"Why?" she kept asking, instead

"What?" Cade asked

"Why isn't there something more serious between you two?"

"Why are you asking?" Cade frowned

"Nothing" she replied "Just small talk, I guess"

They both resumed walking

"I just find relationships on the workplace… compromising" he continued, after a while

"Oh, that's a pitiful excuse" Yuffie said "Are you afraid of softening up because of a girl?"

"It's not that" Cade tried to explain. The last thing he needed to do was to illustrate his sentimental life to a nasty newsmonger like Yuffie "If it's over in your private life then even your job is fucked up"

"Well, then try to make it work, She is nice, beautiful, funny and even smart for being a blonde. Plus, she is basically all over you!"

Cade sighed "Why is everybody telling me that?"

"Because it's true, you clueless!"

"If so, why do you even care?"

"For no apparent reason" she replied "You are just too similar to someone I know who was oblivious to people who loved him"

All that Cade wanted was to punch the ninja in the face and make her stop talking. Obviously, it was an act which would have brought about a huge number of consequences. So he diplomatically decided to let the vibe of the moment glide over him until the urge of doing something violent and stupid would eventually fade away.

But the hardest part of it was that her word had basically summed up one of Cade's worst blight of his personality. She was right. It was the same thing his uncle Reeve had told him. Yuffie had hit bull' s eye with that remark. Maybe it was true that Kayla maybe, and maybe, wished something more than a plain friendship. Maybe that was the chance to move over, at last.

'It won't end up like last time. It can't! At least, I hope it won't…' Cade pondered

He chased away these thoughts as, finally, two guards let them slip through the entrance to the wards where Reeve's office was located

"How about you?" Cade asked

"About me what?"

"Ha! Who's playing fool now?" he joked

"Oh, crap!" Yuffie barked "Do you really have to be so childish?"

"Me? I spilled the beans about me, I think I should get something back"

"Geez!" Yuffie exclaimed "All right, then. For your information, there's no one on my trail that I know. And there's no one in my life either…"

"But that doesn't mean that I'm open to possibilities!" she added "My life is a mess already as it is. The last thing that I want is to have something else to be bothered like a boyfriend or whatever else!"

Cade nodded "See? Now we're even!"

The door behind which Reeve's office was located appeared in front of them. A green led gleamed right to the handle, meaning that the door was unlocked. Cade stepped forward and pushed it open

"After you" he offered

"Well, thanks!" Yuffie replied. She walked in into a spacious room lit by a line of rectangular lamps running along the wall. Reeve was standing right in the middle, in front of the desk

"Yuffie!" he exclaimed "I'm glad to see you again. And in one piece!"

3.

"What do you mean 'in one piece'?"

"Well Cade" Reeve explained "I had the awful feeling that, after the stunt you played in Wutai, Yuffie might have been hurt or maimed. Thank God I was wrong!"

"Hey, I've got a sound reason to explain what happened out there…" Cade protested

"He is quite right" Yuffie stepped in "Unfortunately I was caught in a confrontation with some rotten apples in the law enforcement agency. It was inevitable!"

Cade gestured towards the ninja "See?" he pointed out

"I'm nonetheless glad you are OK Yuffie. And that you are back with us!"

"I couldn't possibly turn down a call to save the world" Yuffie joked. Then she asked "Have you heard anything from anyone else, recently?"

"Well" Reeve started listing down "Barrett is back in Corel trying to work around some oil extraction sites. I know that Cid pays him a visit every now and then. Cloud and Tifa are apparently leading an ordinary life. And Vincent, well…"

"It's alright… I guess" Yuffie cut short, shaking his head

Cade briefly stared at her as a gloomy shade veiled her eyes. They lit up back in a split second, though

"And how are things at home? Apart from your misfortunes with the Civic Guard?"

Yuffie laughed "It's quite alright. Trying to put that place back on its feet"

"Well, tell Godo I would be happy to lend a hand should he need it!"

"I'll do!" Yuffie promised

Reeve walked back to his chair behind the desk

"Why don't you take a seat?" he invited. Yuffie and Cade followed suit

"Anyway" Cade continued "Yuffie is here. Trust me, I always catch my man"

"I see that" Reeve replied "That's why you're going to the Northern Crater along with the task force. I need someone like you over there"

"I'm glad you trust me" Cade smiled

"It's quite hard to trust anyone these days. Even harder after what happened to the submarine"

"How could it be that the MPM has been able to infiltrate so deep between our ranks?" Yuffie asked

"It's a good question" Reeve answered "I wish I could give an equally good answer"

"What do they profit from pushing life on Gaia to extinction? Nothing much, I guess…" Cade pondered

"What if their goal is the usual tirade of building a new world from the ashes, or something like that?" Yuffie guessed

"It could be their aim" Reeve replied "But apparently, if the Singularity explodes, there won't be nothing much to build upon to"

"Let me recap this" Cade intervened "We are trying to prevent the world from being wiped out. But at the same time someone else is trying to accomplish just that. And they are committing a ton of resources to that, attacking installations, high jacking IT systems and sending agents to infiltrate the WRO…"

"They are either fanatics to the bone or there must be something more hidden behind their actions" Yuffie said

Reeve nodded "There are lots of things that should be followed closely. Unfortunately the current crisis is putting a strain on our resources. That's why I called you here!"

"C'mon, Reeve!" Cade told him, smiling "Place your order"

Reeve slightly rolled his eyes "Watch closely the operation in the Northern Crater and try to spot anything or anyone misplaced. There's a huge chance someone from the MPM will show up and try to meddle with our efforts right there"

Cade paused

"Sounds like a good plan to me" he finally said "But what if someone actually shows up?"

"Try to contain the situation at the best of your possibilities. And rely to us all the information you can get"

"Sorry, eam!" Cade intervened "As much as I appreciate you and as I worship you as a leadership figure and all, don't you think is plan is a bit slapdash?"

"I hate to admit it" Yuffie murmured "But he is not completely wrong. You are telling us that your only hope to deter an ambush is that two people fend off an enemy which is pretty much invisible and that could strike at any moment"

"If it was for that, I could have conceived a plan like that too" Cade added "No offence, of course!"

"None taken" Reeve shrugged, thinking upon what he had just been told

"Look" he finally said "You won't be totally alone. The detachment at the Icicle Inn outpost is alerted and will be ready to assist you in virtually no time"

"Besides" he continued, standing up and walking towards the wall, hands behind his back "I'm perfectly aware that I'm asking an ant to move a boulder. But Yuffie had kept up with more powerful enemies in the past? Am I right Yuffie?"

"Well" the ninja hesitated "Yes, I think"

"And Cade, you just have to avoid taking risks. Do you really think that there's an army of fanatics waiting for us out there? In a place like the Northern Crater?"

"I hope not" Cade replied

"Look" Reeve continued "This assignment is not vital. Is crucial. I've always held up the belief that no man or woman here is expendable. Of course I would make an exception here and there but even if so, that would be for an awful good reason. And believe me, this time it is"

"Are you telling us we are the bait for the big fish?" Cade asked

"You are not kamikaze" he added "I don't expect you and I don't want you to sacrifice for the sake of the mission. Especially you Cade"

Cade stood head up upon hearing Reeve calling his name

"But I need someone who I can trust and someone who fights well to protect the mission. And people that fit this description you can count them on your fingers. That's why, again, I need you"

Silence filled the room for a while

"I see" Cade eventually broke the hush "So, up next: going along the task force to the Northern Crater, keep eyes peeled for people behaving strangely and make up a plan if someone not much mellow shows in"

"Sounds like a good schedule to me" Yuffie considered

"I hope you don't mind being under the orders of Brad" Reeve tentatively asked

"I'll try to stay away from him as much as I can"

"Unfortunately his father pressed really hard"

"Don't worry" Cade assured him "I perfectly see!"

"And I hope" Reeve continued "That you won't mind staying a bit in Icicle Inn…"

"Ah" Cade was caught wrong-footed by that question "Well, not really. I mean, it's just a place"

"You sure?" Reeve pressed on

"Absolutely" Cade firmly replied. Yuffie witnessed the last exchange puzzled. She wondered why Cade was so spooked by that place.

"Good" Reeve nodded "If so. I haven't anything else to tell you. Or do you have?"

"No, not that I know" Cade replied, standing up from his chair

Yuffie stood up as well

"I'm sorry Yuffie but you're going to freeze to death if you walk around the Crater dressed like that" Reeve pointed out

"Oh, crap!" Yuffie realized "Sorry, but Wutai hasn't experienced a snowstorm in ages!"

"Don't worry. If you wait five minutes I'll get you a uniform delivered right here"

"What about me?" Cade asked

"You already have one…" Reeve replied

"I know" Cade grinned "Do I have to pick up something else before departing?"

"Not that I know" Reeve echoed him "Just remember to replace the patch on your vest?"

"Which one?" Cade enquired

"Do you take a peek at your PHS every now and then?" Reeve sighed

"I was planning to do so, actually" Cade offered

"Good for you _captain_ Tuesti!" Reeve replied

Yuffie sarcastically clapped her hands "Congratulations!" she chimed

"Shut up!"

"Hey, quit it. You two are going to work together. Get along. At least for me!" Reeve scolded them

"Sure thing!" Yuffie said, looking at Cade sideways

"I'm going to crash on the bed, then" Cade announced, yawning "I'm pretty tired"

"All right" Reeve walked to him and gave him a quick shake of hand. Cade patted him on the back

"Watch yourself out there!" Reeve heartfeltly instructed him

"I'll do!" Cade promised just as sincerely, before walking away outside the room trailed by what Yuffie could swear was an apprehensive but at the same time proud glance towards him

"All right Yuffie" Reeve exclaimed, after Cade had disappeared from his eyesight "Let's wait for your clothes!"

After a while since Cade had left for his bunk, Reeve reverted back to his seat

"What do you think?" he asked

"About what?" the ninja replied

"About him"

"Oh, about him!" Yuffie exclaimed. She paused a bit to recollect her thoughts. She didn't really had terms of endearment for that guy but it wouldn't have been nice to trash talk him at his shoulder and in front of his uncle. Besides, to be honest, her opinion about Cade was not completely negative. She had began to discover a positive side of his persona, surprisingly. Maybe it was the influence of Kayla, whose adoration and fondness for him (it could not be clearer than that; that poor girl could have kissed the ground where Cade treaded. If only that moron knew, or at least tried to convince himself to open his own eyes!) balanced the great load of despicability that Yuffie initially bore.

"I don't know" she tried to express herself "He's not an ordinary kind of person, this for sure!"

Reeve laughed "Well, if I had got a Gil every time somebody told me that I could fund the WRO by myself!"

Yuffie smiled "At first I wanted to smash his face or break his bones one by one. He nearly saved me in Wutai, I admit, but he threw me in such a messy situation with my dad…"

"Well, it may sound inappropriate to notice it" Reeve told her "But it wasn't entirely his fault back then. At least that's what it seems to me…"

"He is reckless, brash and doesn't seem to be fully aware of what people are thinking about him. If I really have to list some of his worst traits, these should do" she commented

"I see" Reeve replied "Guess it kind of fits in"

"On the other hand, he has a very cheerful spirit" Yuffie continued, his voice softening a bit "I mean, he manages to stay calm even when everyone around him is getting out their heads. Right now humanity is on the brink of extinction but apparently is greatest concern is having a good night of sleep" she thought out loud smiling "He is cool enough to think of a solution even in the tightest of spots. He carries out his job. I mean, he gave me that kind of idea, at least"

"Sure he does" Reeve told her "Cade is quite respected for being one of the boldest officers in our ranks. He has quite a dislike for teamwork but when he leads someone into battle or into an assignments everyone stick close to him. He's a natural-born leader in that sense"

"On the other hand" he continued "His unconventional ways of carrying out the missions he is assigned to have caused me quite a number of headaches"

Yuffie laughed "It must be quite hard to hold his reins. And what about his parents? Do they get as much headaches as you do?"

"His parents are dead"

It was as if Yuffie skin had turned into a wintertime meadow, every square inch of her skin covered into a thick layer of biting yet invisible frost. Yuffie could feel her head spinning around as the revelation struck her and made her realize quite a number of things she had not taken into account. Of course, she was not ready to justify some of his behaviour just because he had lost his parents. Yuffie itself had lost her mother while she was just a little kid and that did not impacted her life really that much.

'Are you sure about that? Because you are not really the portrait of a girl who doesn't make his dad worried at all…' a voice rung in his head.

She decided to shake of that feeling at once and to shed some light over the topic

"I suppose he did not tell you…" Reeve guessed

"No… no…" Yuffie murmured "He actually told me, now that I think. It must have slipped from his mouth though!"

A somber silence fell into the room

"When did it happen?" she finally asked

"Ten years ago" Reeve recounted "He still lived with his parents in Icicle Inn. His dad was my brother"

"Icicle Inn?" Yuffie exclaimed, further realizing the cause of Cade's distress with regards to that place

"Right there. Cade still hates that place"

"He was a bit shaken up during the briefing" Yuffie remembered "But what happened there?"

"It's kind of a long story" Reeve explained, sinking in his chair "Back then I was still head of the Shinra Urban Development Commission. The company was carrying out an extensive search and destroy operation to hunt down an eco-terrorist group which was responsible of a series of attacks against Shinra Mako reactors"

"You are talking about AVALANCHE, right?"

"The embryonic AVALANCHE" Reeve nodded "The one that had just been formed out of Cosmo Canyon. We were tipped off that one of their hideouts was in Icicle Inn. So the Infantry and the Turks landed there to investigate and possibly suppress them"

"Unfortunately, the operation spiralled out of control and the Shinra forces began bursting into every home in town and in the outskirts. A platoon entered into Cade's parents estate and was ambushed by a group of AVALANCHE terrorists which had taken shelter into a barn. His parents were caught in the crossfire and were gunned down as they tried to take cover. Their house was turned into a battlefield and was virtually levelled"

"How did Cade managed to stay safe?"

"He had gone hunting early in the morning. He later told me that a storm got him stuck outdoor more than he expected" Reeve recalled, his voice growing sadder and sadder as he dealt with that memory "Probably that saved his life"

"How did he came to know about it?"

"The operation was a partial success but soon voices and rumours that the Infantry and the Turks had behaved dreadfully began circulating. When I first saw the pictures of Icicle Inn I recognized Cade's household and I immediately took off. Apparently, Cade had made it back in town after the storm had subsided, alerted by the explosions and the gunfires"

"The Shinra forces had already departed when I arrived so the inhabitants of Icicle Inn were rallying to assist the wounded and to provide shelter for the displaced. Cade was there, next to his burnt down house. He was pale and catatonic. He was sitting next to his dead parents. He was trying to bury them but he only ended up frostbitten. He was so close to die holding a shovel in his hands…"

"And then what happened?" Yuffie enquired, her heart beating faster as the tale unravelled

"I managed to sneak him back to Midgar where he received medical treatment"

"I guess he must have gone berserk once he woke up. I mean Shinra came down and killed his family. Or AVALANCHE, as far as it mattered… and he had nowhere else to go!"

"Surprisingly not" Reeve shook his head "I mean, it's not that after a few days he was back on his feet again and cheering and doing whatsoever. He briefly went into depression but he never really blamed anyone, all he wanted was to move on. He had always been tougher than the average"

"I see" Yuffie commented, as she pictured in her mind the painful scene of a boy grieving the loss of his parents and trying to soldier on despite everything that had happened. It was a noble sentiment for sure.

"That explains lots of things" the ninja said

"I guess: his will to throw the heart beyond the obstacle, his apparent unyielding optimism. But also his stubbornness and his uneasiness to disclose himself to others" Reeve explained

"What happened next?" Yuffie pressed on. She had grown unhealthily curious about the life of Cade. At least the more she knew, the better it was for the time she was around him

"I felt guilty for what happened" Reeve continued "Today, if I tell him that what happened was partly my fault, he slaps me in the face and lectures me about the importance of moving on, but you know…" he smiled at the image of Cade nagging him about not being overly attached to the past. Yuffie laughed too

"I decided that the best thing for him was offering him a place that would have given him a roof over his head and some companionship. So I reserved a slot for him in the Shinra Infantry Corps"

"What?" Yuffie shouted, shocked

"Ironic, isn't it?" Reeve grinned

"That is an understatement" Yuffie commented, still with her jaw dropped "How could he have accepted such a deal?"

"I was terrified too that he would have kicked me repeatedly just for proposing him that. But for some kind of reason he accepted nearly straight away. Guess it was the weight of the circumstances…"

Yuffie paused for a moment, trying to weave together the revelations. Again, it was not as if she was ready to condone Cade for his actions, past, present and future. Simply what she came to know put him under a new light.

"Not that his time in the Shinra Infantry was a smooth one. I came to know that he was continuously teased for being the nephew of the head of the Urban Development Commission, virtually the major of Midgar and right hand of the president. He got beaten up pretty wild but he soon learnt to pay them back. At least if he harboured anger, he already vented it while he was in Infantry"

"He doesn't seem to be a violent kind of guy, on second thoughts" Yuffie observed

"Look Yuffie" Reeve stood up and walked near Yuffie, who stood up as well "Cade is a complicated man. I'm not defending him because he is virtually my son, or at least I like to think it that way. But I know for sure that he is a good guy. He won't turn on you or let anything harm you or whatever. Just be patient and you'll see that it takes time to get along with him, but when it happens you'll also find out that you might even like him" Yuffie slightly blushed upon these words

"As a person. Like him as a person!" Reeve hastily added, embarrassed, almost as he realized the involuntarily double-entendre

"Oh, for sure" Yuffie replied "I trust you Reeve. If you say so, it must be true"

"Oh, it's just something I'm damn sure of" Reeve laughed "Now, if that lackey hurries up with that uniform you could afford some time to rest too!"

Yuffie stared at the clock on the wall. She had lost the sense of timing. The tale had been dramatic but Yuffie was dangerously, at times, curious and the story he had been told was, in a sense, entertaining. Interesting, to be more fair.

"There's something missing in the tale" Yuffie pointed out "If he joined Shinra, how come he told me he joined the WRO just a couple of years ago?"

"That's a part I would like him to tell you" Reeve replied

"That means that I will never know it?"

"It means that maybe someday he will tell you"

"Guess I'll never know, then!" the ninja sighed

Yuffie was trying to make her way to the quarters were the room she had been reserved was. After a couple of times of getting lost and finding herself back on the same spot, she was about to give up and prepare herself to spend the night on the first couch she would find.

She rounded a corner and stumbled upon Cade, nearly colliding with him

"Oh, hey!" Yuffie greeted him

"Got lost?" Cade asked straightforwardly

"What are you doing here?"

"Somebody from the security room told me that someone was wandering on this floor. Thought I could give a hand…" he smiled

"Well, actually you could" Yuffie replied, exhausted by the fruitless effort of finding her place "I've been stuck in these corridors for like hours and I'm nearly collapsing"

Cade chuckled

"Hey!" Yuffie protested "Tomorrow is a big day and I don't want to look like a zombie on the airship!"

"You can always sleep on our way there" Cade teased her, backing off immediately as Yuffie gave him a menacing look

"Alright!" he gave up "Come with me. What's your quarter?"

"A-127" Yuffie recalled

"You mean that one?" Cade pointed at a door where the letter A and the digits 1, 2 and 7 were painted in large cases and in bright red.

Yuffie dropped her jaw in disbelief "I swear I've walked past here a thousand times!" she cried

Cade tilted the corner of his mouth "Maybe you are really tired" he surmised

"Well, probably. Tired as fuck!" the ninja replied

"Well, good nigh then" Cade told her "See you tomorrow!"

Yuffie nodded. As Cade turned and walked away Yuffie, unexpectedly, found herself addressing him again

"Cade!" she cried

The man turned in her direction

"Sorry…" she said, almost whispering that word

"Sorry… for what?" Cade asked, puzzled by that apology

'Yeah, for what?' Yuffie thought to herself

"Nothing!" she quickly and alarmingly replied, before disappearing in her bunk.

Cade scratched his head

'She really needs some sleep!' he thought, shaking his head as he walked away.

Somewhere else in the WRO headquarters, an officer was walking towards the office of General Adrian Clawbourne. As he approached the waiting room, the security guard staffing the desk raised his head. Upon discovering the identity of the visitor, the guard nodded and made a gesture to the officer as if he was cleared to proceed.

The door slid open.

The officer entered. At the desk General Clawbourne was sitting facing a screen installed behind it. The display was showing a resume of the briefing held moments ago, complemented by additional information of communication

"Everything is in place. The plan will be carried out tomorrow as planned" the officer said, after briefly clearing his throat

"Good!" General Clawbourne exclaimed. He spun his chair, facing the visitor

"If everything will proceed as expected, this whole thing will be over in a couple of days" he added

"Why shouldn't it be so?" the visitor asked

"That ninja, Yuffie Kissaragi is not an ordinary warrior" Clawbourne commented

"I've read her file" the visitor nodded "We will deal with her accordingly"

"And keep an eye on Tuesti junior as well" Clawbourne recommended "He's an unpredictable kind of guy. God knows what he is capable of pulling off"

"Tuesti is the least of our concerns" the visitor replied, with a hint of anger in his voice

"Be alert anyway! This is the turning point of the entire plan. I want nothing to be left to chance" Clawbourne cut him off

The visitor nervously nodded "Is the cover story holding up?"

Clawbourne waived his hand "Absolutely" he said "We managed to get half of the scientific staff on our payroll, by hook or by crook"

"Good" the visitor replied

A brief moment of silence ensued

"Any more questions?" Clawbourne asked

"No" the visitor answered

"Good. Go on then. Give me a signal when the operation is underway"

"Of course"

The visitor turned back and walked off the office.

Clawbourne pulled a drawer from his desk. He gave a look at its content and briefly smiled.


	8. Icicle Inn

_EDEN_

1.

Yuffie felt surprisingly restored after just six hours of sleep. Maybe it was thanks to the soundproof environment and the comfortable bunk she had found in her quarter. Her sleep was sound and quiet and by no means nightmarish, as the airship _Eden_ looked quite like the opposite.

After the wake up call, all the officers, scientists and soldier assigned to the extraction mission had converged in the hangar where a further short briefing was held. Cid was there too, watching from the sidelines and interacting with technicians, filling out checklists and berating anyone who was slacking or was in the wrong place doing the wrong thing.

She met Cade there, who suggested her to stick with him in order not to get lost again. Yuffie discreetly flipped him as a reply

"Watch yourself!" Cade admonished her "This is the real thing!"

"Are you nervous?" she asked

"No, but someone else is quite jumpy, I see" he observed, pointing at the bulky figure of the mechanic, who was aggressively waiving his arms while shouting towards a frightened technician

As Cade and Yuffie walked towards him, the technician fled the scene

"Jeez Cid! Calm down! You're going to get yourself a heartache!"

"These jackasses are tougher to deal with than my wife when she's upset!" Cid complained, puffing and wiping out the sweat on his face

"What's anguishing you?" Yuffie tentatively asked

"Nothing, really" Cid told her regaining his composure "But after what we've been told yesterday everyone here is a bit on the edge…"

"Care to join us for an outdoor trip?" Cade jokingly proposed him

"Not today" Cid shook his head

"That's too bad!" Yuffie commented

"Ah, don't be sad" Cid answered "You're going to be fine even without me!"

"Good luck keeping your minions in line, then!" Cade waived his hand as they parted, with Cid resuming grumping and swearing almost instantly

Meanwhile Brad Clawbourne was bossing his subordinates mercilessly

"Everybody!" he shouted, just after the briefing had terminated "Fall in line and get on the airship without tripping over. Double time!"

"It's going to be a long, long day" Cade sighed, hopping on the ramp of the airship, where the stream of grey uniforms was flowing through towards the cargo hull

"That promotion got to his head…" an officer commented

"Shut up!" Cade scolded him "Or you're going to see blood here really soon!"

"Whoops" the soldier shut himself up "Cade! Nice to see you're here too. At least someone is going to cheer us up during the flight!"

"Not today!" Cade sadly replied, discreetly pointing at Brad while queuing up to embark on the ship

"Don't tell me this is going to put you down" Yuffie wondered "I wouldn't last a minute without your play-by-play commentary of the mission"

"You know, I changed my mind. You just gave me a reason to be twice as lively as before" Cade exclaimed

"I should have kept my mouth shut then…" Yuffie sighed

"Don't worry" Cade reassured her "The place we are going does wonders to my sense of humour. Not to mention the boss…" he gloomily told her

Yuffie felt the urge of asking him a question. A question she already knew the answer but, nevertheless, wanted to ask anyway.

"I probably have already asked you" she began "But why are you so spooked about that place?" she asked as the line marched through the airship hatch.. The space it was large enough to host a second compartment above their heads. A voice on the loudspeaker was instructing soldiers to take their place on the second floor, next to the ship's armoury. They made their way to the upper store and took their place on a row of seats installed throughout the entire cargo hull

"I mean" she continued "Maybe it's not charming like Costa del Sol or what but…"

As Cade sat down he answered "You know, some time ago I went to a restaurant in Edge. It was suggested by someone I knew. I ate pretty well that night actually"

Yuffie gave him a confused look

"Anyway" Cade continued, unfazed "The following night I spent it entirely in the bathroom because the food had been like a brick into my bowels. I had fever, I puked, I got chills and dizziness… and so on"

"What's your point?"

"I never got back to that restaurant" Cade opened his arms

"Is that supposed to be related to what I asked you?"

"More than you think" Cade sternly replied

Outside the ship, crewmembers were still shuffling equipment on the tarmac and loading the remaining cargo from the ramp. Suddenly an alarm rang and the ramp began to lift among plumes of vapour.

Apparently that's all that Yuffie could hope to obtain from Cade himself. As the ramp clanked back to its closed position, she began to wonder why on earth she was so attracted by his past history. It was something private and rather sensitive, after all, and it was plain wishful thinking to pretend that he would have opened up so easily and so quickly.

Besides, there was a hidden part of the tale that not even Reeve had dared to disclosed to her.

Eventually, Yuffie reprimanded herself for treating someone's past as a toy with which satisfy her nosiness. Still, she could feel that after the chat she had last night with Reeve, her attitude towards Cade had changed a bit. She felt like she was more keen to bear his antics. Too bad that it could not work both way.

As the hull had been closed, Brad Clawbourne walked in the midst of the officer

"Gentlemen" he erupted "Our task is to provide a safe environment to everyone involved in the retrieval of the Mako in the Northern Crater. We'll work on a pretty tight schedule up north so get some rest now, while you can!"

"Yes Sir!" a thunderous answer erupted. Cade and Yuffie replied deadpan instead

"It's a very important assignment" Brad roared again "I expect nothing but the best from you. Our ETA is 6 hours from take off. See you on the ground!"

As Brad made its way back to his own division, a voice in the PA instructed everyone to fasten their seatbelts and to stand down on the seat throughout the entire take off procedure until the ship had reached its cruising altitude. The engines revved up and the airframe began to gently shake as the _Eden_ slowly lifted from the surface and began ascending towards the sky over Edge.

"In case we should die" Cade suddenly said, almost shouting to make his voice be heard over the ruckus "let me tell you that you look pretty good in the WRO uniform"

"Seriously?" Yuffie slightly blushed at the comment. She did not expect anything like that coming from him "Well, thank you. But why we should die?"

"Oh, never mind" he replied "It's just for good luck"

"So you didn't really mean that?"

"At all, I mean…" Cade got a hold of the noise mufflers hanging on the seat by a hook "I did really mean that"

"Oh" Yuffie exclaimed "In that case, you don't look bad either"

"Well, thank you kindly"

The hull trembled even more as the ship pitched upwards. The roar of the engines increased even more as the crew applied full thrust

"I never really thanked you for saving me back in Wutai" Yuffie suddenly admitted "Maybe those guards were actually quite keen on making me disappear"

"About time" Cade laughed

"You shouldn't be such an asshole, though" Yuffie continued "I remind you we are supposed to work together"

"I see" Cade replied "Then I apologize if I had messed up things so far. I will consider quitting my habit of teasing you"

Yuffie felt a sense of relief. It was good to see that the relationship was veering towards more positive vibes

"But you'll have to let me joke every now and then" Cade requested "It's my only way to relieve tension"

"I reckon I will" Yuffie agreed

As the _Eden_ levelled, the engines ceased roaring. The ship had reached its cruising altitude

"Ship is now in cruising mode" a voice spoke from the cockpit through the loudspeakers "Passengers are allowed to un-fast and stand up"

As the announcement was made, the officers in the hull stood up, stretching out and letting out cries of relief

"I think I'm going for a walk" Cade mused as he stood up himself

"Go for it" Yuffie lazily chimed, as she witnessed Cade going towards a huddle of officers and starting to lively discuss with them. Some of the WRO members were voicing their wish that Cade could have traded places with major Clawbourne. Despite still being the relative of a high brass, it was clear that Cade could enjoy much more popularity.

Yuffie was about to sink in her seat again when a friendly voice shook her up from behind

"Hey! You'd better stand up or you won't feel your leg anymore!"

Yuffie turned towards the voice. It was Kayla

"Kayla!" she exclaimed "I was wondering when you'd show up!"

Kayla laughed "I'm not quite used to travelling on airships. I was still recovering from the take off"

"I feel for you" Yuffie said "I used to suffer from a mild form of motion sickness. But I slowly overcame it"

"I even took some pills" Kayla shook her head "But I think they kicked in too late"

"At least the cruise is smooth" Yuffie observed

Kayla nodded "What about Cade?" she asked

Yuffie scanned the hull to look for him. He was standing next to a mixed group of soldiers and officers. They seemed to be enjoying what Cade was recounting them.

"… and basically all I had to do was pull that damn rope until it snapped!" Yuffie could hear him tell

His audience burst into laughter. Yuffie waved at him the moment their eyes met

"Well, got to leave you for now" he told his followers "Be sure to check and re-check your equipment while you can!"

"Yes Sir!" the men replied at unison

"I see you two girls just met…" he commented as he approached the two girls

"Sounds like you were busy" Yuffie guessed

"Just checking the latest specifications with the boys" he said "The last moment of joy before the private briefing with Monster Clawbourne"

"That's your name for him?" Kayla chuckled

"Our name!" Cade corrected her

"Why I haven't heard that before?"

"You should get out the lab every now and then…" Cade commented

"I would" Kayla said "But I would feel too lonely out there"

Yuffie threw Cade a sly look

"Attention all officers" the voice rang again "All officers assigned to security duties are summoned at the crew chief quarters for final briefing!"

"Another one?" Cade complained

"Saved by the bell" Yuffie whispered

"Sorry" Cade shrugged "Got to go!"

"Not withholding you" Kayla told him

"Watch out, he's going to bite" Yuffie laughed

"Don't worry, I'm vaccinated against rabies. You are luck enough to have been re-commissioned as a Warrant Officer, instead!" Cade echoed as he proceeded along towards the crew chief enclosure

Yuffie watched Kayla smiling and following him with the eyes

"That's quite unfair by Reeve" Kayla told her

"You mean the commission as a Warrant Officer instead of a higher rank?"

"Well, you were chief of the Intelligence Division…" Kayla noted

"Oh, that's just fine with me" Yuffie shrugged "Reeve thought that not having to meddle with other officers could have meant more freedom of action for me…"

Kayla silently nodded

"Kayla?" the ninja asked

"Yes?"

"Look, you don't need to answer me" Yuffie explained "But there's a question I really need to ask…"

"Seems important…" Kayla mused

"Well" Yuffie said, blushing "It is a silly question, but I don't want to seem… intrusive?"

Kayla grew a puzzled look

"Go on, don't worry" she smiled "I'll try my best to satisfy your curiosity"

Yuffie caught a breath

"Is there something between you and Cade?" she finally asked

Kayla smiled "Well, I thought you'd asked something worst" she replied blissfully, only to grow a bit more serious as she started to explain "Anyway… yes and no"

"What does it mean?" Yuffie enquired

"We had a brief stint with each other" Kayla continued "It started like six months ago. Cade and I had been deployed on a couple of assignments together and then we decided it would have been a good idea to hang out together after work"

"Was it a good idea, then?"

"Well, I guess so" Kayla paused for a moment "Look, Yuffie, Cade is quite hard to understand at times, but if you knew the whole history you would probably understand why he is like he is…"

"You mean about his parents?"

"How do you know?" Kayla asked, surprised

"Reeve thought it would have been a good idea to sketch me out the picture"

Kayla bowed her head "I suppose you know the other half of the story as well, right?"

Yuffie grew even more curious "What other half?"

"He didn't tell you?"

Yuffie shook her head

"Then I'm not going to be one to do that. I'm sorry!"

"What does it mean?" the ninja protested

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing" Kayla replied "Sorry but I think that that's just too personal to be given away…"

Yuffie stood in silence for a while. She was starting to probe into uncharted territory. How many other backdrop story did Cade have inside him? She began to feel quite uneasy about the secrets behind that guy

"Anyway" Yuffie continued "Why it didn't worked out between you two?"

"Maybe it's the fact that we share the workplace" Kayla guessed "Cade never really told me but I can somehow guess it. And to him, the WRO is something more than a workplace"

Yuffie nodded "The old adage about not having job-related affairs"

"I guess it is like that" Kayla said "Once this will be all over I hope everyone will have time to catch up. Me included"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I'm not going to be in the WRO forever"

Yuffie nodded again. Apparently what stood between these two was just the fact that the world was going through destruction endless times. Kind of unfair, to be honest. But again, it was their own decision to be in the frontline when the world itself called for help. It was just a matter of staying alive until things got a bit more quieter.

Those last word sent shivers down her spine

"And what about you?" Kayla asked "Is there a pretender to the hand of the princess of Wutai?"

"Oh, please don't" Yuffie sighed "My father is all over the matter. It's driving me nuts!"

"It must not be very easy for you" Kayla told her "I mean, you are young and lively. I can imagine that a life being quarantined inside a palace doesn't really suit you…"

"That's exactly how it feels" Yuffie replied

"Don't worry" Kayla assured her "Someday you will be able to get the best of both worlds"

"I hope so" Yuffie sighed "And what about you? Are you planning to do anything after this?"

"I was hoping to be able to be more engaged in environment preservation. Things such as raising an artificial biosphere"

"A what?"

"A biosphere. An artificial environment containing plants and animals ecologically related to each other. It is crucial to the survival of organisms nearing extinction"

"Sounds great" Yuffie commented "That's your field of application, right?"

"Quite like that" the scientist replied "I come from a family of farmers from the outskirts of Kalm Somehow I got a scholarship for the Modeoheim Life Science University and I graduated in molecular biology. But deep inside my heart I'm still a girl who could throw away the microscope and simply stare at birds and flowers. It may sound childish but…"

"At all!" Yuffie enthusiastically replied "It's nice to find someone with the green thumb every now and then!"

"Glad you like that!" Kayla laughed

After a brief moment of silence Yuffie spoke again

"You know, Wutai itself could use a bit of a fix up in that sense…"

"You think so?"

"After the conflict with Shinra years ago" Yuffie explained "our country has been left quite in disarray. Materia shortages have wrecked the environment. Farmers are luck to be able to barely feed on what they can dig up from the ground…"

"I thought Wutai was one of the last green heavens of Gaia" Kayla replied in disbelief

"Not for long I'm afraid" Yuffie continued "If only I could convince my father to be more… incisive I could turn that place upside-down for good!"

"I admire your resolve" Kayla commented

"Thanks" Yuffie chuckled "As you can tell me and my father are not really on the same wavelength when it comes to certain issues…"

"Don't worry, you'll be able to have your point be proven" Kayla assured her

"In that case, why don't you start from there with your project?"

"You mean… from your own island?"

Yuffie nodded

"Well, thanks" Kayla said with utmost gratitude "I will seriously consider your offer!"

Yuffie smiled "And maybe" she added "Someone else will give you a hand…"

Kayla smiled in response "Don't worry. I think I'm ahead on that part of the project…"

"You mean that…"

"I do" Kayla said, smiling

"Well" Yuffie erupted from her seat "Let's save the world. And fast, then!"

Cade breathed out in relief as he finally left the room where the additional briefing, with Bran Clawbourne as host, had just ended. The relief was partly due to the fact that the briefing itself had sounded more like a propaganda show rather than the transmission of valuable information.

Partly, it was due to the fact that he actually felt sick.

He dismissed his worries about his health quite quickly. Maybe he was just a bit overstressed. Nothing that a couple of hours of sleep could not fix.

As he quickly paced back to his seat he realize that the symptoms were growing worse: he started sweating again and his head felt heavier. He had to stop walking otherwise he would have ungraciously fallen to the ground, much to the scorn of everyone witnessing that pitiful scene.

He eventually managed to reach his destination, unharmed. There the two girls were just as he had left them, still chatting and talking as two merry wives sitting in a tea room.

That scene managed to pull him a muffled laughter, enough for the girls to notice his presence

"Hey, nice to have you back!" Yuffie greeted "How was the briefing with Monster?"

"Who?" Cade dumbly asked, as his head and limbs were becoming alarmingly numb

"Brad" Kayla explained, puzzled by Cade's obliviousness to the reference "Are you alright?" she asked then

"You're the eye in the sky, eh?" Cade asked, laughing. Yuffie stood up upon than scene as well, as Cade's face turned pale in a matter of second. His manners were alarming as well. She could swear the man had gone boozing instead of listening to his superior

"Did you get a hold of some alcohol, while away?" Yuffie questioned him, as Cade slumbered on his seat, closing his eyes

"Alcohol? Did someone say alcohol?" he opened his eyes lazily

"Damn Cade! You look horrible" Kayla reached for his forehead, sensing his temperature. Apparently, he skin was cool, although damped with sweat

"Seriously, you look trashed!" Yuffie commented

"I must have eaten some bogus food yesterday… now if you excuse me…" he replied, as he turned on his chair trying to fall asleep

"I don't like this" Kayla said, sounding worried "Have you seen a doctor while you were in Edge, by the way?" she asked, as a bell rang in her head

"Yep… it's all fine and good…" Cade whispered

"Well, alright…" Kayla rolled her eyes "At least take this!" she added as she reached for her pocket. The hand reappeared holding a small pill. She gently placed between Cade's lips

"Come on!" she gently invited him "Swallow it down!"

Cade gulped as the pill went down his throat. After a few seconds he was sneezing peacefully.

Yuffie shook her head in disbelief

"He doesn't deserve you…" she commented

"He's a bit of a moron" Kayla told her "but I love him!"

Both girls laughed.

2.

Cade fell asleep under a thick blanket of heat.

Somewhere in his mind hope was chasing the idea that that sickness was just a bout of influenza.

He perfectly knew that it wasn't like that.

He knew it because the moment he closed his eyes something strange happened: he was seeing white instead of black.

He knew it because the moment he drifted out of consciousness the word of a certain doctor in a certain medical facility in the midst of a certain desert flowed through his mind.

 _Mako poisoning effects can be different from person to person. I may say, albeit with all necessary caution, that Mako is behind your astounding recovery, and maybe even behind the fact that a worm usually one metre long was as big as a hover-bus…_

Cade was suffering from Mako poisoning. And it was taking a turn for the worst.

'What I'm going to do now? Reeve is going to scold me for good…' he thought 'Well, maybe after this trip I'd better check in for real!"

As he pondered about the issue he slowly realized that the sense of canning heat was quickly disappearing, being replaced by a nipping cold. The white landscape before him was taking the form of a vast field, all covered in white snow. Guts of wind were slapping snowflakes on his bare face. He took a look at himself and he realized he was still wearing the WRO uniform. He looked ahead of him again.

The cold was beginning to bite his skin again. How could he feel pain if that was just a dream?

'Because this is a dream. Isn't it?' he wondered

He stepped forward. The soil cracked under the weight of his feet. He proceeded forward, bowing against the wind.

As he kept walking, a shadow of a building appeared in the distance. In just a few metres the construction turned more discernible.

Cade was caught by a wave of panic. He recognized that building.

And as soon as it recognized it, he wanted to turn away. Instead an invisible force dragged him to what it looked like a small country house. Some details were amiss, but it was by no doubt exactly what Cade thought it was.

The porch, the detaching drainage along the roof, the white painting on the wall, the brown shingles on the roof. The more he saw it the more he wanted to turn back. He could swear that tears were forming in his eyes as panic gripped him even more.

Instead he calmly walked on the porch. At least that offered him some protection from the wind. The cold was seeping inside him now, reaching his bones and his heart.

He walked up to the door and cautiously pushed it. The swivels squeaked as it slowly swung open.

Inside the house was empty. No furniture, no carpentry, nothing at all.

Except for two bodies lying on their side on the floor.

With a calm and a composure that would have been completely out of place in those circumstances, Cade stepped up next to them. He knelt next to the one on his right.

If he could, he would have cried out his lungs.

It was Kayla. She looked like she was sleeping. Something told him the stark reality was different.

She was dead.

Cade dropped on his knees. His face was motionless. A river of salty water was making its way through the frost on his cheek.

"Don't cry. Please!" a female voice sounded behind him. It was almost begging.

Cade wiped away the tear and turned towards the voice. A girl was standing in the room. A young girl with brown hair held together in a long braid. Cade knew who that girl was. His heart shrank upon that apparition

"Why shouldn't I cry?" he uttered. Although one could tell otherwise looking at him, Cade was grieving as he had never done before in his entire life

"Because I don't like to see you cry. Or sad…" the girl was nearly weeping. She stepped forward and knelt right beside him, throwing her arms slowly around him

Cade rested his head upon hers

"I love you" he murmured

"I knew it all along" the girl replied, caressing his back "And I love you. I always will…" The warmth of her body and of her words relieved Cade from the pain of that experience

"I'm sorry it had to be like that…" Cade muttered again, painful remembrances piling up inside him

"It was not your fault" the girl kissed him on the cheek "But please, Cade, move on…" she begged him again

"I'm trying…!" Cade was at the point of crying again. That whole thing was too much for him to bear and he would have snapped eventually

"I know, but you have to keep carrying on" the girl told him "I'll be watching you, and I'm here beside you. But I'm not there anymore. Not like you would wish, at least…"

"What does it mean?" Cade asked, pointing at Kayla

The girl stared right into his eyes "This is what happens when stubbornness and pride make you blind. Things start slipping from your hands and you realize that when it's too late…" the girl began weeping tears again "And I don't want that to happen because…"

"Because…?"

The girl did not replied. She simply stood up and walked around towards the second body, upon which strangely enough Cade had not really paid much attention up to that point.

The girl knelt again. The second body was just as tall as Kayla's one but it was on the opposite side, and the hood of the grey attire covered the head.

She gently pushed the body as it laid on the back so that Cade could see its face. The hood slipped, revealing a mass of short, black hair held together by a black headband with a white rose upon it.

Cade screamed. Or passed away. Or cried, in a fit of hysteria. He couldn't tell.

He woke up, eventually. Simply opening his eyes.


	9. Northern Crater

THE NORTHERN CRATER

1.

The snowstorm had further toned down as the fleet of WRO helicopters approached the Galea's Cliff, a rising crown of steep peaks that acted as the natural boundary of the Northern Crater. The area was affected just by a mild snowfall and the pilots sighed in relief as visibility was good enough to land without much effort and without the harassment of crosswinds, at last.

Nevertheless, it was far from being the best welcoming place on Gaia. Temperatures were far below the average that day, so the door servant on the chopper was quickly ordered to shut the side door of the craft, in order to spare the passengers from freezing to death even before landing. Engine overheating was not a problem anymore, after all.

Besides, an eerie sight greeted the oncoming visitors. A pillar of grey clouds rose from the basin where the crater stood, abruptly terminating where the surrounding cliff rose and skyrocketing up to the utmost layers of the atmosphere, in a replica of a greyish, dull mushroom cloud. The murk was slowly but evidently twisting on itself as the winds and currents were sucked into and dived into the crater only to be spun around and blown on the outside with much more power and violence. Thunder and lightning adorned the column, and the white streaks of electricity became longer, more powerful and more menacing as the fleet of helicopters slowly manoeuvred closer to the edge of the cliff, searching for the landing area.

"Damn, that is some thunderstorm…" the pilot dropped his jaw, eyes stuck at the menacing manifestation of nature before him "Thank the Maker we are not supposed to fly into that thing!"

"How could we?" the co-pilot told him "I bet the instruments would go fritz right at the moment we dare to poke our nose into that mess…"

"Hey, you two! When we will be told to fly into that thing I'll be sure to tell you in advance!" Cade shouted right behind them "Now please, think about not thrashing this bird on landing, won't you!"

"Sure thing, Sir!" the pilot replied, feeling reprimanded

"Did you just scared him off?" Yuffie asked, looking at him sideways

"At all" Cade raised his hands "I was just helping him setting his priorities straight"

"Oh, I see" Yuffie answered, turning his head to look outside the window.

"Basically, the extraction team is supposed to go down there…" she mused, trying to take a look past the tip of the mountains

"They are…" Cade confirmed

"There's a huge amount of live Mako down there" Yuffie noted "Won't it be dangerous?"

Cade puffed, trying to recall what he had learned about the feature of the crater "Apparently" he began "the Mako in the crater is so condensed that it doesn't emit much radiation. In that sense, it's less harmful than a microwave oven"

Yuffie whistled "Wow" she exclaimed "I never thought microwaves could be so dangerous!"

"Ever had one?"

"We are not that primitive in Wutai, Mister Captain Tuesti!" the ninja countered, pretending to be offended by the pun

Cade laughed.

The pilot applied a slight correction to the route, following the leader of the pack. The vessels now flew parallel to the cliff. All of a sudden it was heavily shaken by a fierce crosswind. Soon it became the most urging concern of the pilots, who now had to negotiate the gusts rocking their crafts

"It's going to be a rocky landing, Sir!" the pilot warned Cade through the headset "Better tell your man to strap into!"

"Roger that!" Cade replied, as he was trying himself not to get trashed on the passengers' compartment floor. He managed to fast his seatbelt. He gave a quick look at his right where Yuffie sat, already strapped to the seat and stiffly adherent to her place

"Doing fine?" he asked her

"Like a ride on a rollercoaster" she smiled

"Good…"

"Except I hate rollercoasters!" she added

"Maybe you'll get to like them after we will land safely" Cade told her

"Let's see…" she concluded

"I'm going to take you to the Golden Saucer, if you manage not to throw up. What do you say?" he offered

"I thought you had other plans for the future, dating-wise…" Yuffie made him notice

"Come on" Cade waived his hand "It's for the sake of our newly established friendship"

"Well, then maybe…" Yuffie conceded

"How about a foursome" he added "When you'll meet your own half…"

A powerful jolt nearly made him bite a chunk of his tongue away.

Cade turned to the men of his platoon, which had already secured themselves "Don't worry about a thing!" he shouted "If there's one thing that I've learned, is that hard landings make the pilots pull off their best. Just mind not to bang your heads while we land…"

He was interrupted by a sudden jolt when the helicopter was caught in a turbulence. Beside him, Yuffie visibly fought against a dry heave

"Hey" Cade remarked "Don't do that. Not while we're still onboard. Remember the ride…!"

"Jeez" Yuffie moaned "That's why I hate flying…"

"If that consoles you, I'm not doing that much good myself"

"I appreciate your humanity" Yuffie replied, as she let her head shake around while her body stood still. Thankfully soon the craft flew past the turbulence and the cruise resumed as smoothly as it could be.

"Hawk Leader to all Hawk helicopters" a broadcast came in. Cade recognized that voice. It was Brad

"All right" Cade exulted "Enters the Monster!"

"We have spotted the landing zone!" Brad continued, via radio "Proceed to perform the landing sequence. Hawk 1 will be first, touching ground on the northern corner of the plateau. Hawk 2, 3 and 4 will land at the eastern, southern and western corner respectively…"

"Hawk 3, roger!" the pilot chimed. Cade could hear him both on the headset and right behind his own back

"So we are number three, then…" Yuffie murmured, as the vessel gently turned toward a wide opening right on the edge of the cliff

"Is it important?" Cade enquired

"No, not at all" Yuffie denied "Even better than being number four…"

"So you are superstitious!" Cade poked her

"Me? Just a bit" she conceded "Just to enjoy the funniest part of it. Not an inch more than what is necessary"

"I admit I find it amusing at times" Cade laughed "You know, once a sergeant confided me that he had never washed his jockstrap because he thought ticks brought good luck"

Yuffie made a disgusted grimace "That's not superstition" she complained "that's plain gross!"

A yellow, rotating light went off in the compartment

"All right everyone" Cade stood up, unfastening himself "That's the signal. Once we disembark create a tight perimeter around the helicopter!"

A chorus of 'Yessir!' erupted from the troop. Meanwhile the helicopter was levelling and slowing down

"Look!" Yuffie noted, observing the landscape from the porthole "There's high ground around the landing zone. We'd better send someone on the lookout…"

Cade brushed her hair "There is my second in command!" he proudly declared

"Idiot!" Yuffie smiled as she put away her headset and readied her equipment

"As my second in command brought up to my attention" Cade added "the presence of high ground around the landing zone will bring a slight modification to the plan Who's the chief of the machine gun crew?"

"It's me, Sir!" a soldier raised his hand. He was adjusting a bulky ammo pack to his tactical vest. Two chevrons on his vest denoted him as a corporal

"Good!" Cade exclaimed "Corporal, I need you to take point and find a suitable place to set an observation point over the higher ground behind our landing zone. Can you do that?"

"Of course, Sir!" the corporal enthusiastically replied

"Terrific!" Cade gave a thumb up "Get three men with you. I'll be on the radio!"

"Everyone else" he continued "Stay at a convenient distance from the helicopter. Don't loose sight of your comrades. Visibility is good but better be cautious!"

"What about me?" Yuffie asked, pulling his vest

"You stick to me!" he said "As I told you!"

"Good" Yuffie replied

"Hawk 1, we are on the ground!" a broadcast spoke

"Infantry units" Brad came in "You are cleared to disembark and switch to defensive formation once on the ground. Wait for our crew to mark the landing points!"

Cade turned to the cockpit. Through the windshield he could se the other two helicopters still afloat and the other one on the ground., barely noticeable against the white backdrop. There was snow everywhere, save for the spots where rocks protruded from the ground. His tactical mind was already laying out a convenient array of defensive position.

Suddenly an orange flare went off on the ground, emitting a plume of the same colour over the sky.

"That's our in" the pilot commented "The flare down there!"

"I'll get the crew ready" Cade said

"We're descending now. Should be easy" the co-pilot told him "No more damned cross-winds at last. They piped down!"

"That's a good news!" Cade concluded

The door servant unlocked the hatch. As the helicopter began his descent the soldiers stood up, in full battle dress. A freezing stream of air and snow particles again flooded the compartment. Yuffie thanked her uniform for providing even the slightest amount of heath to prevent her from drowning in that invisible yet tangible sea of ice and cold air.

"Logistic crews, unload the materiel and gather them at the centre of the landing zone. Proceed as instructed, letter by letter!" Brad ordered via radio

"Listen to that" Cade gaily commented "Sounds like someone who actually knows what is he doing!"

The helicopter touched ground, snow cracking under the landing gears and swept away by the vortex created by the rotating blades. The yellow light turned read and steady. An alarm rang and, as the door servant firmly pulled it by the handles, the hatch was fully disclosed

"I'll take point. Follow instructions and this will be over sooner that you think" Cade shouted "Now… GO!"

As the platoon made a perimeter around the helicopter, Cade noted that a further chopper was descending right in the middle of the opening

"That is our catering service" he explained to Yuffie, who was running beside him towards a point in the centre of the yet makeshift defensive perimeter. Temperature was still below average and descending again, now that the day had gone past its warmest part.

Soon all the other platoons followed suit around their respective crafts.


	10. Gongaga

THE NORTHERN CRATER

1.

The snowstorm had further toned down as the fleet of WRO helicopters approached the Galea's Cliff, a rising crown of steep peaks that acted as the natural boundary of the Northern Crater. The area was affected just by a mild snowfall and the pilots sighed in relief as visibility was good enough to land without much effort and without the harassment of crosswinds, at last.

Nevertheless, it was far from being the best welcoming place on Gaia. Temperatures were far below the average that day, so the door servant on the chopper was quickly ordered to shut the side door of the craft, in order to spare the passengers from freezing to death even before landing. Engine overheating was not a problem anymore, after all.

Besides, an eerie sight greeted the oncoming visitors. A pillar of grey clouds rose from the basin where the crater stood, abruptly terminating where the surrounding cliff rose and skyrocketing up to the utmost layers of the atmosphere, in a replica of a greyish, dull mushroom cloud. The murk was slowly but evidently twisting on itself as the winds and currents were sucked into and dived into the crater only to be spun around and blown on the outside with much more power and violence. Thunder and lightning adorned the column, and the white streaks of electricity became longer, more powerful and more menacing as the fleet of helicopters slowly manoeuvred closer to the edge of the cliff, searching for the landing area.

"Damn, that is some thunderstorm…" the pilot dropped his jaw, eyes stuck at the menacing manifestation of nature before him "Thank the Maker we are not supposed to fly into that thing!"

"How could we?" the co-pilot told him "I bet the instruments would go fritz right at the moment we dare to poke our nose into that mess…"

"Hey, you two! When we will be told to fly into that thing I'll be sure to tell you in advance!" Cade shouted right behind them "Now please, think about not thrashing this bird on landing, won't you!"

"Sure thing, Sir!" the pilot replied, feeling reprimanded

"Did you just scared him off?" Yuffie asked, looking at him sideways

"At all" Cade raised his hands "I was just helping him setting his priorities straight"

"Oh, I see" Yuffie answered, turning his head to look outside the window.

"Basically, the extraction team is supposed to go down there…" she mused, trying to take a look past the tip of the mountains

"They are…" Cade confirmed

"There's a huge amount of live Mako down there" Yuffie noted "Won't it be dangerous?"

Cade puffed, trying to recall what he had learned about the feature of the crater "Apparently" he began "the Mako in the crater is so condensed that it doesn't emit much radiation. In that sense, it's less harmful than a microwave oven"

Yuffie whistled "Wow" she exclaimed "I never thought microwaves could be so dangerous!"

"Ever had one?"

"We are not that primitive in Wutai, Mister Captain Tuesti!" the ninja countered, pretending to be offended by the pun

Cade laughed.

The pilot applied a slight correction to the route, following the leader of the pack. The vessels now flew parallel to the cliff. All of a sudden it was heavily shaken by a fierce crosswind. Soon it became the most urging concern of the pilots, who now had to negotiate the gusts rocking their crafts

"It's going to be a rocky landing, Sir!" the pilot warned Cade through the headset "Better tell your man to strap into!"

"Roger that!" Cade replied, as he was trying himself not to get trashed on the passengers' compartment floor. He managed to fast his seatbelt. He gave a quick look at his right where Yuffie sat, already strapped to the seat and stiffly adherent to her place

"Doing fine?" he asked her

"Like a ride on a rollercoaster" she smiled

"Good…"

"Except I hate rollercoasters!" she added

"Maybe you'll get to like them after we will land safely" Cade told her

"Let's see…" she concluded

"I'm going to take you to the Golden Saucer, if you manage not to throw up. What do you say?" he offered

"I thought you had other plans for the future, dating-wise…" Yuffie made him notice

"Come on" Cade waived his hand "It's for the sake of our newly established friendship"

"Well, then maybe…" Yuffie conceded

"How about a foursome" he added "When you'll meet your own half…"

A powerful jolt nearly made him bite a chunk of his tongue away.

Cade turned to the men of his platoon, which had already secured themselves "Don't worry about a thing!" he shouted "If there's one thing that I've learned, is that hard landings make the pilots pull off their best. Just mind not to bang your heads while we land…"

He was interrupted by a sudden jolt when the helicopter was caught in a turbulence. Beside him, Yuffie visibly fought against a dry heave

"Hey" Cade remarked "Don't do that. Not while we're still onboard. Remember the ride…!"

"Jeez" Yuffie moaned "That's why I hate flying…"

"If that consoles you, I'm not doing that much good myself"

"I appreciate your humanity" Yuffie replied, as she let her head shake around while her body stood still. Thankfully soon the craft flew past the turbulence and the cruise resumed as smoothly as it could be.

"Hawk Leader to all Hawk helicopters" a broadcast came in. Cade recognized that voice. It was Brad

"All right" Cade exulted "Enters the Monster!"

"We have spotted the landing zone!" Brad continued, via radio "Proceed to perform the landing sequence. Hawk 1 will be first, touching ground on the northern corner of the plateau. Hawk 2, 3 and 4 will land at the eastern, southern and western corner respectively…"

"Hawk 3, roger!" the pilot chimed. Cade could hear him both on the headset and right behind his own back

"So we are number three, then…" Yuffie murmured, as the vessel gently turned toward a wide opening right on the edge of the cliff

"Is it important?" Cade enquired

"No, not at all" Yuffie denied "Even better than being number four…"

"So you are superstitious!" Cade poked her

"Me? Just a bit" she conceded "Just to enjoy the funniest part of it. Not an inch more than what is necessary"

"I admit I find it amusing at times" Cade laughed "You know, once a sergeant confided me that he had never washed his jockstrap because he thought ticks brought good luck"

Yuffie made a disgusted grimace "That's not superstition" she complained "that's plain gross!"

A yellow, rotating light went off in the compartment

"All right everyone" Cade stood up, unfastening himself "That's the signal. Once we disembark create a tight perimeter around the helicopter!"

A chorus of 'Yessir!' erupted from the troop. Meanwhile the helicopter was levelling and slowing down

"Look!" Yuffie noted, observing the landscape from the porthole "There's high ground around the landing zone. We'd better send someone on the lookout…"

Cade brushed her hair "There is my second in command!" he proudly declared

"Idiot!" Yuffie smiled as she put away her headset and readied her equipment

"As my second in command brought up to my attention" Cade added "the presence of high ground around the landing zone will bring a slight modification to the plan Who's the chief of the machine gun crew?"

"It's me, Sir!" a soldier raised his hand. He was adjusting a bulky ammo pack to his tactical vest. Two chevrons on his vest denoted him as a corporal

"Good!" Cade exclaimed "Corporal, I need you to take point and find a suitable place to set an observation point over the higher ground behind our landing zone. Can you do that?"

"Of course, Sir!" the corporal enthusiastically replied

"Terrific!" Cade gave a thumb up "Get three men with you. I'll be on the radio!"

"Everyone else" he continued "Stay at a convenient distance from the helicopter. Don't loose sight of your comrades. Visibility is good but better be cautious!"

"What about me?" Yuffie asked, pulling his vest

"You stick to me!" he said "As I told you!"

"Good" Yuffie replied

"Hawk 1, we are on the ground!" a broadcast spoke

"Infantry units" Brad came in "You are cleared to disembark and switch to defensive formation once on the ground. Wait for our crew to mark the landing points!"

Cade turned to the cockpit. Through the windshield he could se the other two helicopters still afloat and the other one on the ground., barely noticeable against the white backdrop. There was snow everywhere, save for the spots where rocks protruded from the ground. His tactical mind was already laying out a convenient array of defensive position.

Suddenly an orange flare went off on the ground, emitting a plume of the same colour over the sky.

"That's our in" the pilot commented "The flare down there!"

"I'll get the crew ready" Cade said

"We're descending now. Should be easy" the co-pilot told him "No more damned cross-winds at last. They piped down!"

"That's a good news!" Cade concluded

The door servant unlocked the hatch. As the helicopter began his descent the soldiers stood up, in full battle dress. A freezing stream of air and snow particles again flooded the compartment. Yuffie thanked her uniform for providing even the slightest amount of heath to prevent her from drowning in that invisible yet tangible sea of ice and cold air.

"Logistic crews, unload the materiel and gather them at the centre of the landing zone. Proceed as instructed, letter by letter!" Brad ordered via radio

"Listen to that" Cade gaily commented "Sounds like someone who actually knows what is he doing!"

The helicopter touched ground, snow cracking under the landing gears and swept away by the vortex created by the rotating blades. The yellow light turned read and steady. An alarm rang and, as the door servant firmly pulled it by the handles, the hatch was fully disclosed

"I'll take point. Follow instructions and this will be over sooner that you think" Cade shouted "Now… GO!"

As the platoon made a perimeter around the helicopter, Cade noted that a further chopper was descending right in the middle of the opening

"That is our catering service" he explained to Yuffie, who was running beside him towards a point in the centre of the yet makeshift defensive perimeter. Temperature was still below average and descending again, now that the day had gone past its warmest part.

Soon all the other platoons followed suit around their respective crafts.

2.

The landing zone, a circular, levelled, snow-clad meadow in the middle of a forge between two steep hills, was bustling with activities: soldiers were running to the positions their officers where assigning them, trying to shape off a suitable defensive perimeter. The logistic crew were witnessing the landing of a further freight helicopter and were amassing materiel, containers and vehicles in the middle of the plain. Aircrews were busy wrapping their crafts into thermally-insulated tents in order to prevent the cold from knocking them out.

Cade stared at the orange-painted snowcats being unloaded. Something seemed strange to him. He did not remember any mention about the use of vehicles on the operational theatre, apart from the helicopters. It was meant to be a foot-and-air affair only

"Vehicles?" he muttered to himself

Yuffie caught wind of him being surprised

"Something wrong?" she asked

"Nothing, it's just…" he paused, trying to concentrate both on the snowcats and trying to keep an eye on the barely noticeable grey-dressed soldiers scattered around the field

He voiced his concern "I did not remember anyone saying anything about deploying vehicles"

"Maybe it's a last-minute change of plans" the ninja guessed

"Maybe you are right…" Cade pondered, eyes fixed on the business of personnel roaming around the huddle of containers and boxes

"Or maybe they mentioned it and you were asleep…" she joked

Cade gave her a crooked look

"Sorry!" Yuffie calmly apologized "I was just trying to ease your stress!"

"Ah" Cade changed expression "Well, then thank you"

A voice cracked through the radio

"All platoon leaders, regroup next to the materiel collection point to receive further instructions"

"Jeez" Cade complained "Brad is an endless sequence of briefings!"

"Are you going, then?" Yuffie asked

"Of course" he answered "You take command of the platoon!"

"And what should I do?" Yuffie frantically asked again, feeling all of a sudden the weight of the responsibility

"It's easy!" Cade assured her "If someone pops up, they will ask for permission to open fire. Judge if it is the case and tell them to fire"

"You make it look to damn easy!" Yuffie protested

"Don't worry, I'll be away for less than a minute"

Cade threw a device at Yuffie "I already got a radio" she pointed out

"This one is set on a ghost frequency" he explained "I'd better keep a secret channel with you. We're here for a reason, after all…"

"That's very wise of you" Yuffie marvelled

"Use that one to contact me for… private conversations!" Cade winked, as he turned to reach Brad next to the peck of boxes and containers.

Yuffie stood there for a while, the secondary radio in her hand. She looked around her. The landscape was ghastly: white everywhere, and the soldiers barely visible.

Besides, she remembered, the MPM could pop up and turn a difficult excursion into the wilderness into a hellish fire fight. Her skin grew goose-bumps as the thought of having to fend off enemies in that circumstance crossed her mind

'Yuffie Kissaragi, get your shit back together. You are the princess of Wutai, white rose, champion of blah blah blah' she thought, as she regained her composure and started carefully scanning the horizon looking for anything that looked misplaced.

She knelt and gave a friendly pat at her shuriken on her back, as if it was a puppy, rather than a deadly craft of steel.

Reassured by the integrity of her equipment and by the self-awareness of her fighting prowess, she patiently waited for the turn of events

'If only Godo could see me here…' she thought, amused.

Cade adjusted his pace to the thick layer of snow on the ground and quickly reached the place where Brad, his second in command, four other officers and the ten members of the scientific team were waiting the major to brief them.

"All right everyone!" Brad erupted, not even minding Cade "As you have already been told, platoon A and B will descend with the scientific team. You will provide cover and help transport the Mako up here with the winch the logistic team is installing"

"Platoon C and D will continue to stand on guard up here!" he continued "If there are no questions, I'll appoint Captain Cavers here as interim commander of the force here in the landing zone!"

"I have a question, actually…" Cade raised his hand. Brad Clawbourne apparently got rid of his bullish manner but Cade feared that every chance was good to bullshit him in front of the entire troop. He could only hope that his question would not cause a general laughter.

Apparently Brad stood in silence waiting for the question. Cade took his silence as a tacit permission

"What's the reason for those vehicles there?" he made a gesture toward the snowcats

After a brief pause, Brad answered. As the major moved his lips Cade braced for the impact with a wall of derision. It never came, though

"The headquarter earmarked a couple of vehicles as a last resort measure, if the prompt evacuation of the theatre is requested"

That was his answer. Clear, clean and cut. The bliss of command had surely altered his personality

"Anyway, Captain Tuesti" Brad bitterly added "Next time wait for your superior's permission to speak, before speaking yourself!"

Someone chuckled. It was still Brad, after all. Cade didn't know if being even more frightened or rejoice upon that

"No more questions? Good, get your platoons to follow me!" Brad ordered, as the designated officer began walking towards the place were the engineers had set up a scaffolding where to board the winch. The scientific team, recognizable by being the only ones with orange overalls on their uniform trailed after them.

Cade stopped a figure by pulling her arm

"Get your ponytail inside the hood or it will tangle up in the pulley!"

Kayla smiled behind her scarf and the goggles. She briefly caressed Cade's hand as she departed.

Caver's voice shook him from his momentarily stasis

"Platoon leaders, back to your positions. Double time!"

He turned toward the place were Yuffie was standing low in the snow

"Thank the Maker you are here!" she sighed in relief as he appeared next to her

"How was your first experience of command?" he asked

"Brief but intense"

"Something did show up?"

"Nothing at all.."

Cade quickly scoped the surroundings. Not a thing was moving on the horizon, except for the flapping, brightly coloured tents and some soldier adjusting his position. He embraced his rifle.

It was mostly calm now. The wind was slowly calming down but its whistle still chilled the both of them. It was the only sound they could hear.

No wonder they were quite startled when a voice came in Cade's radio

"Captain, this is Corporal Gaines, over"

"Fuck!" Yuffie exclaimed, jumping

"Why so jumpy?" Cade mocked her, although he got pretty scared as well. There was tension in the air.

"You are not the embodiment of calm so shut up!" she replied, visibly shook up

Cade shook his head as he reached for the radio "Captain Tuesti, come in Gaines, over!"

"We have set up the observation point, over!"

"Roger that. Your position, over?"

"South, southwest of yours, over"

Yuffie passed him the binoculars. Cade pointed them in the direction Gaines told him. After focusing the lenses, he could now spot a figure in the distance waiving at him. Gaines and his team were perched on a bump on a hill at the feet of the mountain rising at the western flank of the landing zone and had burrowed in a dugout.

Back at the centre, the logistic crew was deploying tarpaulins to shelter themselves beside the containers.

"All platoons report in" Cavers ordered by radio

"Platoon C" Cade answered back "Situation nominal!"

"Platoon D" the commander of the formation echoed "Situation nominal here too!"

Cade switched frequency "Gaines, report!" he ordered

"Gaines here, Sir. Nothing to report!"

"Roger" Cade replied "Keep your eyes peeled!"

After he closed the communication, the area fell into its characteristic eerie silence again. Windmills of snow danced over the ground every now and then, accompanied by the howls of the wind

"No wonder people get mad in this kind of place…" Yuffie considered

"Am I wrong or is it the second time, at least, that you visited this place?" Cade enquired

"You're not wrong at all" Yuffie proudly answered "That's my second time here. Spot on!"

"Not enough to get used to it, I guess"

"It would take a lifetime to get used to this place" Yuffie said, turning his head to the giant cloud formation where the extraction team and its escort had disappeared into "but I doubt it would be worth the while!" she continued

"You know, on the way to the Galea's Cliff there's a man, an elderly who was an avid climber when he was a couple of springs younger…" Cade told her

"You mean Mr. Holzoff?" Yuffie asked

"Don't tell me you know him as well…"

"Of course I do" she told him "We even stopped by his cabin on our way here…"

"So much for having a conversation" he scoffed

"Were you trying to have a conversation? For real?" she marvelled

"I suppose so"

"Well, there are a million other things to talk about…"

"Then pick one" he invited her

Yuffie thought upon which topic bring to the discussion. Obviously there was only one thing she meant to ask him. She tried her luck

"Cade" she tentatively asked "Why do you hate this place?"

Cade sighed and closed his eyes. Obviously Yuffie could not ask but one thing, on second thoughts. He tried to come up with a decent excuse to swerve that question once again but he failed to conjure up something decent.

Eventually, he gave up hiding what he had meant to tell her later on, anyway

"First of all, I don't hate this place" he began, eyes staring in front of him "I love it, to be honest. I like this cold, this blistering, chilling cold. And I love these mountains. I love the perilous paths winding between the vales, and the frozen lakes and streams running at the bottom of the glens. The mountain is a place no one can fully understand but the chosen few are bound to… fall in love with it"

Yuffie gazed in awe as Cade had pulled out that piece of amateurish yet touching poetry

"Sounds like you are one of these chosen ones" she commented

"Well" he replied "it's kind of easier to be one of them if you were born and raised here…!"

Yuffie tried to sound surprised at the best of her acting potential. Which was not very high, but she had to conceal the fact that she already knew whatever Cade was about to disclose

"You mean… that you were born…"

"I was born in Icicle Inn, yes" Cade finished her sentence "Quite a harsh place to grow up but eventually it teaches you a lot of things. Of course" he laughed "I went to school like more or less everyone else!"

"And why were you so… distressed by the idea of coming back here?"

"I lost my parents" Cade sharply told her. No metaphors, no figures of speech nor convoluted sentences. Plain and simple talk. He felt like a block of concrete had been lifted from his stomach. He realized that it was somehow all part of the process of opening up, of becoming someone better than he was the day before, as Reeve liked to express it. Someone who had the temper and the maturity of being more open to the people around him. It was a small step in the eye of a random therapist but for Cade, it was a giant leap: it was the first time in years that he talked about his past with someone.

And that someone was a small, feisty, Wutaian princess with whom he had been on a collision course since the day he met her.

Life was indeed strangely and oddly beautiful

"I see" Yuffie lowered her eyes. Instead of showing surprise, she felt a sense of sadness as she recalled the images which had rose in her mind as Reeve had told her the entire story

"Don't worry, it was a long time ago…" Cade assured her

"Who cares" Yuffie replied "It must have been hard anyhow. I mean both of them…"

"Yep" Cade nodded, his face for the first time devoid of its usual joviality. The joviality that Yuffie had come to appreciate, finally "It was a damned accident" he added

'Shinra cold-bloodedly murders you parent and razes your house to the ground and you call it an accident? That's some forgiveness you have, dear boy' she thought. Of course, Yuffie knew that probably she was reaching a point were she could not progress. Cade had somehow set a limit on the amount of information he could give away for today

"You know" Yuffie continued "I can relate, at least to some extent…"

"Uh?"

"I lost my mom, too. When I was little…"

"I'm sorry…" Cade consoled her

"Never mind" the ninja slightly smiled at him

"Do you remember her?" he asked, after a brief hiatus in the conversation

"Surprisingly well, for being a seven-year-old kid back then" Yuffie recalled the image of her mom, probably the most beautiful human being on the face of Gaia

'Evenly paired with you, Aerith. Of course…'

And the days when they would sod the entire kitchen and get busy preparing the water-cakes for the Da Chao _matsuri._

Or the days when her mother would take her for a stroll down the avenues of Wutai during springtime, with the cherry trees blossoming and paving the street wit their pink fallen petals.

And ultimately, the days when her mom ceased all of this and stayed secluded in the wing of the pagoda where the illness slowly chewed her life away.

And the day, the only day when he saw her father crying.

A small tear ran on her cheek. She whiskered it away, not without a sigh

Cade, without uttering a word, passed his arm around her shoulders, getting her closer to him. A symbolic hug between two people who had lost something significant in her life

"Sorry" she apologized sighing "I can't help it…"

"It's all right" he cut her short

After a while, Yuffie chased the blues away. She regained her smile while Cade reported twice that nothing strange or peculiar had been sighted or was happening

"And what do you remember about your parents?" she dared to ask as she felt like a key barrier had been torn down. Cade in fact seemed quite content to give her an answer

"Oh, nothing much" he responded, with a smile growing on his face "You know in Icicle Inn you either work your ass trying to grow potatoes in the snow or you build a snowman if you grow bored of hunting. I guess they fit the stereotype pretty much…"

It was far from being an award-winning joke but Yuffie burst out laughing. Thank the Maker a gust of wind muffled her cry otherwise she would have alerted a nervous infantryman in the vicinity, eager to get a kill. Cade followed suit, amused by Yuffie's reaction.

"Sorry, I really can't help myself…" Yuffie said, her laughter fading and wiping away tears of joy from her eyes

"Don't worry, again" Cade replied

Their eyes met. His green eyes static upon her brown ones, gleaming with tears. Contemplating her young, fresh and blissful visage. Something beautiful both when she was smiling both when she was crying. He felt a fire within

'Oh, no!' he thought 'I've stayed a bachelor for a thousand of years and then all of a sudden I'm having it both ways…'

On her side, Yuffie thought pretty much the same. She had taken her time to admire a strong, resolute and relentless man but with a humanity stemming from a past of pain and suffering which, instead of turning him a monster, made him become a gentle, caring and lovable spirit

'Damn it' she pondered 'He is cute and fun and all… but I would never take him away from Kayla. Not after I met her. If only I had met you before…'

 _Bang!_

A shot echoed in the air.

They reached for their weapon as they rolled on their belly and as they tried to locate where it came from. The echo of the bang made the entire process difficult

"Do you see anything?" he asked

"Not a damn thing!" she replied

"Cavers here!" Brad's deputy shouted on the radio "What happened? Platoon leaders report in!"

"It came from Tuesti's side, Sir" the platoon D commander radioed in

"Oh, listen that smart dumbass" Cade grinned "Why don't you tell us how many loop-de-loops that fucking bullet made in the air, uh?"

"Tuesti, give me a sit-rep!" Cavers ordered

"No joy, Sir" Cade replied "I have negative contact. I'll try to reach out for whomever might have shoot!"

He promptly switched frequency. Beside him, Yuffie's pupils were nearly as wide as her eyes as her heart ran a race to beat the record of its peak frequency

"Gaines, please tell me who did shoot to what!" Cade said, with a voice loaded to the brink with apprehension

"Errm… it was a mistake, Sir" Gaines nervously replied on the radio "Our gunner must have mistake a hare for an enemy unit, Sir!"

'Holy Fucking Gaia!' Cade swore in his head. Yuffie nearly collapsed upon hearing those words.

Cade fought against the instinct of unleashing a stream of bullets in the direction of Gaines, with the hope of at least wounding him. He cooled down after a few intense second of self-crafted meditation

"It's all right Gaines" he finally said "Just ease off that happy-go-round trigger finger, won't you?"

"Yes Sir, I'm sorry Sir. Out!" the corporal concluded

"Did you hear, Sir?" Cade asked Cavers, after shifting frequency again

"Understood" cavers replied "To all unit, false alarm. Mistaken identity. Return to previous battle condition. Over!"

Cade sit back. Yuffie brushed the snow off her uniform

"Damn kids and their over-sized toys…" he complained

"Come on" she countered him "You must have made a blunder yourself some time…"

"Not while I was on a mission to save the world…" he pointed out, as his gaze wandered throughout the entire landing zone, as a habit. His eyes got stuck on a strange scene, taking place next to the makeshift hut were the materiel had been gathered.

He tapped Yuffie on the shoulder. The ninja turned towards where Cade's eyes where pointing at.

Two men were dragging a box out under the tarpaulin. Soon they were joined by two other man. The crate was opened.

One of them started handing the content to each of his comrades.

They were dark, smooth elongated pipes.

He turned towards Yuffie.

Yuffie nodded, in a painful slow motion.

Her face was just as astonished as his.

Cade could not decide what to grab first.

The radio or the rifle.

It was too late, eventually.

3.

In a matter of seconds even, the last helicopter was turned into a fireball that quickly dissolved, scattering pieces of flaming steel all around. Whoever stood still inside the crafts was killed instantly.

It all started when one of the man emerging from the tent aimed at one of the helicopter with his rocket launcher: the projectile streaked across the air leaving a plum of smoke behind it.

The sound of the explosion pierced the relatively quiet landscape of the Galea's Cliff. Soon the other soldiers who were handed the other piece of weaponry did the same and wiped out the other choppers too.

Cade first thought went to Reeve and the WRO headquarters. They had to be alerted that the MPM had struck. He quickly ran through the files in his brain looking for a way to contact at least the outpost at Icicle Inn.

He needed a long distance radio.

One was in the hands of Brad Clawbourne, which was down in the crater…

"Cade!" Yuffie shouted, interrupting his train of thoughts "Get the radio and warn whoever might be listening to us down there!"

Good idea. Why he did not think of that before? He'd better be doing that himself rather than wait for Cavers to wake up and message Brad.

But first he needed to take cover, as many other soldiers where coming from the containers, this time armed with assault rifles.

Cade acted way faster this time. He held his rifle and took aim. A double tap knocked the one trying to get rid of his launcher

"Run behind the wreckage!" he ordered her "And take the radio with you, I'll have you covered!"

Around the encampment at the centre of the landing zone, puffs of snow were lifted in the air as bullets started raining. Cade's platoon had begun to return fire.

Yuffie jumped in his feet and took the radio from Cade's belt, as he jumped behind a heap of snow. The ninja made a dash towards the wreckage. She strafed with her submachine gun, forcing a couple of soldier to desist form firing form an uncovered position. Cade leant on the heap of snow and started picking whomever was sticking his head out. A soldier was killed as a salvo hit him right in the chest, another one was wounded in his leg and limped back behind the tarpaulin.

Cade looked behind him. Muzzle flashes were erupting as the platoon fired on the turncoat soldiers. They enjoyed the advantage of higher ground. They were the least of their concern

"Cade!" Yuffie shouted on the ghost frequency. Cade nearly forgot he had that device "Run! They are reloading!"

He jumped up and ran as fast as he could towards the totalled helicopter. Clouds of snow erupted between his feet. He felt grateful for the horrible aim those soldiers had.

The cracks of the rifles became more intense as the whole party joined the one soldier who was firing at Cade.

'Damn! What if he doesn't make it?' Yuffie though. She threw away the empty clip of her submachine gun and swiftly replaced with a new one. She decided to play the surprise effect card.

She grabbed an arm of her shuriken and years and years of intense training came to their fruition as she instinctively spun on herself hurling the four-pointed blade in the air.

The powerful throw sent the shuriken gliding. The spinning motion made it take a gentle turn rightward. For a moment, it seemed as if Yuffie had overshot her target. The MPM soldier, initially fazed by the appearance of that object over their heads, resumed firing at Cade.

Then physic or magic, or a convenient combination of the twos made the impossible happen: the shuriken reached the apex of its trajectory, then it descended gaining even more speed and energy than before. Four soldiers had came off their shelter to gun Cade down. They turned towards the descending blade as it came down on them.

Three of them ducked just in time.

The fourth was nearly decapitated when the blades hit him right at the root of the neck. He was thrown on the grown in the middle of a rapidly expanding stain of bright, red blood.

And finally the shuriken headed right towards the burning skeleton of the helicopter, landing right behind it in the steadfast catch of the Great Ninja of Wutai.

Meanwhile Cade had closed the gap between him and the cover.

He slid next to Yuffie

"If I had not seen it with my eyes" he commented "I'd say that that stuff must be powered or what!"

"One hundred and ten percent Wutaian expertise!" Yuffie winked

"Have you contacted Brad?"

"All channels are nothing but static…" she shook her head

It was true, all frequencies were broadcasting nothing but white noise. The MPM had more than a trick upon its sleeve

"Their aim sucks but surely they know how to make up for it" he commented, shaking the radio

"What do we do know?" Yuffie asked

Cade took a peek. Apparently the band of MPM soldiers that had emerged from the makeshift logistic encampment had been pinned down by the suppressing fire from the platoon Cade led

"Maybe if it's just those punks, we could outflank them! Our platoon is doing a decent job pinning them down…" Yuffie pondered

"I'm afraid it's not just them…!" Cade warned her.

Right now a sudden realization struck him. In the heath of the confrontation he had not realized that platoon D had not fired a single shot. What was holding them?

It couldn't be more cleared than that.

He swore, punching the frame of the helicopter.

"What's happening?" Yuffie asked

"Fucking platoon D is on their payroll as well!"

"What do you mean?" Yuffie asked, face aghast. Unnecessary question. She perfectly knew what he meant.

"So what do we do know?" Yuffie asked again

For the first time in his life as a WRO officer, Cade found himself against a wall. It was indeed a tight spot. His mind was frantically trying to recall a similar situation he had gone trough in his operational history but he was in uncharted territory.

Isolated, betrayed and with no means of communication. And with a reserved seat in death row.

Come on, there had to be an escape.

"Look!" Yuffie exclaimed relieved "Platoon D is closing in!"

Cade curiously but carefully popped his head out to observe the situation. Apparently, platoon D was descending upon the centre of the meadow. Some of his elements were lagging behind providing cover fire for the remainder soldiers closing in on the container huddle in a crescent-like formation.

"Did we just had luck on our side today?" Cade let these words escape his mouth.

Yuffie did not reply. She watched as, unbelievably given the way events had just unfolded up to seconds ago, soldiers of platoon D were ordered to cease fire. In a matter of seconds the MPM party was completely surrounded.

Cavers walked through the line of WRO soldiers, his weapon hoisted

"Drop your guns!" he shouted "Come out, hands where we can see them!"

The rest of the platoon C was quickly descending to join the capture of the saboteurs. Yuffie made a gesture to Cade as if to invite him to come out of the shelter and reunite with the rest of the platoon.

The moment they were both clearly visible, the events took another unexpected turn.

This time for the worst.

4.

Bullets ricocheted on the wreckage of the helicopter as Cade and Yuffie again took shelter behind it.

The platoon led by Cavers had aimed their guns at them the moment they made the mistake of emerging from their cover .

By then, they should have realized that the plot was bigger than they could expect. But, of course, now they had hindsight.

They stood crouched on the melted, dirt snow next to the burning steel phantom of the helicopter as Cavers had just instructed his men to wipe out the remainder of platoon C, which had came out thinking that all the saboteurs had been finally rounded up by their counterparts. No one of the soldiers who had shared the ride on the chopper with Yuffie and Cade made it out alive from that unexpected barrage of bullets.

Paranoia was never an effective ally of a soldier on a battlefield. But this time it could have helped.

"Damn it!" Yuffie cried "Treacherous bastards…" In the distance the moaning of the slain WRO soldiers faded out in the mild blizzard. Right! To make matters worst, Cade could tell that the weather was worsening.

"We've been screwed…" Cade shook his head

"You two!" Cavers erupted "Get out of there. It's all over now!"

'Not in a million years' Yuffie thought

"Cavers!" Cade shouted "You bastard son of a bitch! How will you explain all this?"

Cavers grinned "I'm not obliged to explain a damn thing, Tuesti!" he shouted "I'm simply being ordered to apprehend you! If you comply, you'll be able to see the grand design behind all this"

'And what about Yuffie?' Cade thought. Did they plan to simply kill her and let live just himself for whatever purpose they had in mind?

"I'll be alright… in one way or another" she gently murmured, as she could read his mind.

Cade shook his head. Sure thing, he was not letting anyone else be killed by some crooked terrorist today. Seeing his platoon being annihilated by a backstabber and a gang of turncoats was enough a dent on his pride as soldier and officer

Yuffie grew a surprised look "Do you have something in mind?" she asked

"Of course I do. I bet my ass that there's fuel among the stuff down there" he explained his plan, pointing at the stack of containers "If only we could ignite that combustible, the explosion could distract them enough for us to get to a more convenient spot… Or maybe even knocking them down, if the Gods are smiling upon us!"

"Good. So where do you plan to run after they'll have turned their heads?" the ninja enquired

Cade looked around. The barren landscape offered few hideouts. Then the winch caught his attention

"Why not that stuff?" he offered

Yuffie took a look at the winch. Of course if the only option was going down, let it be

"Will it bear the two of us?" she questioned

"It's our only chance" Cade sighed "At least we will have a chance to get down and warn the others…"

"Provided they don't have betrayed us too…"

"All of them?"

"Not all of them, of course…"

Cade knew that Yuffie was right. If an entire platoon had gone rogue up here, no wonder what could have happened in the crater. He could only hope that someone had fled the scene and took a good cover if something similar had unfolded at the bottom of the cliff too.

He could only hope that Kayla was safe…

Kayla!

His eyes widened as a thousand alarms rang in unison.

Despite the cold, sweat began spurting from every pore of his skin. His head was about to spin out of control. A wave of fear surged in his body and made him temporarily lost the sensibility of his limbs. Cade seldom lost control of his instincts but when it happened, it was like a dam failing to contain a reservoir

"Hey, don't panic now. I need you sane!" Yuffie urged him, shaking him by the shoulders

"All right!" Cavers shouted, angrily "Ten seconds from now. After that we will simply blow this place out!"

"Ten!" he began counting down

"Kayla is down there…" Cade whispered

"Damn it!" Yuffie swore. The realization struck her almost as fiercely as it had hit Cade. How could she forgot that?

"Nine!"

"We have to move fast!" Cade told her

"Are you sure your plan will work?" she asked him

"Eight!"

"You just think about hitting that huddle with the rifle…" he said, passing her his assault rifle

"Seven!"

"I've got something more effective…" Yuffie grinned

"What?"

"Six!"

Yuffie reached for a leather pocket on her belt. Cade had never noticed that pouch. As Yuffie removed the flap, a small glow emerged from that hoist

"Materia!" she explained, holding a small, bright, reddish goblet "Fire Materia, to be precise…"

"I confide in you!" Cade told her

"Five!"

Yuffie placed that goblet over a set of smaller shurikens she held in the palm of her hand. The materia sunk in the blades, as they turned red. They must have been hot like thousands of degrees, judging by the glow. Yuffie showed no distress as she kept holding them, though

"Four!"

"So I just have to hit the stuff over there…" she asked, peeping amidst the beams of the fuselage

"Right!" Cade nodded "I'll try to take them as close as I can to the explosion"

"Three"

"Hey!" Yuffie caught Cade attention as he prepared to emerge "She's all right…" she simply said, caressing his arm. Cade nodded.

There was nothing else he could wish for

"Two!" Cavers made a gesture to a man holding a rocket launcher. The man aimed at the wreckage

"One!" Cavers grinned triumphantly. Even if Tuesti was eventually killed, his apprehension rather than assassination was merely a bonus. The plan had succeeded, eventually. And Cavers was secretly glad he did not have to deal with babysitting someone so hideous and unbearable such as Director Tuesti's nephew

"All right! I surrender.." Cade shouted, emerging

"You TWO surrender!" Cavers corrected him "Take the ninja with you!"

"What are you going to do? Kill her?"

"Why do you care?"

"His father is pretty vengeful, you know…" he said, with perfect aplomb

Cavers grinned. Behind the wreckage, Yuffie couldn't help but smile at his unwavering sense of humour. It was truly something uplifting, even in the direst of the situations

"Don't make me change my mind over your fate, Cade!" Cavers angrily threatened him "You two, get him!" he ordered

"Get ready behind there!" he shouted as he started running towards the centre of the opening. Some soldiers opened fire, missing him

"Don't shoot if you didn't aim first, fuckheads!" Cavers shouted, as a couple of soldiers had to get on the ground to avoid the volley of bullets and being caught in the crossfire

"Try not to kill him! I want that asshole alive!" he added. It had become a matter of principles now. On second thought, death would have been too merciful an act for someone like him. Torture was way better off.

Cade ran across the field, looking over his shoulder making sure that the bulk of the enemy platoon followed him, dragging them close to the materiel stack. The soldiers made some steps in his direction, beginning to fall in his trap. He raised his arm

"Now! Do it now!" he shouted

"Do what?" Cavers wondered, as he momentarily put his weapon down, puzzled by Cade's order.

From behind the wreckage, Yuffie leapt into the air, springing on the remains of the chopper. She unleashed the Fire Materia-soaked shurikens in mid air

"It's that pesty ninja again!" Cavers grunted

As she touched ground, she capered in the air yet again to dodge the bullets. Upon touching ground for the second time, the shurikens hit their target.

They were powerful enough to penetrate the aluminium sheet of a container which contained barrels of fuel for the snowcats, as they had correctly guessed. The Fire Materia ignited as it came into contact with the fuel. The luckiest shot in her entire life, as she came to consider beholding the fireball that ensued a split second later.

The entire huddle was engulfed by the explosion. Debris and flaming pieces of steel and aluminium were thrown all around at nearly supersonic speed. The Fire Materia had also a secondary effect, which surprised even Yuffie: upon igniting with the aluminium it encountered along the way it produced a massive and blinding bowl of light. Thankfully she was both sheltered by the deadly rain of metal shards, which had been absorbed by one of the snowcats that stood on the way, and by the blinding flash as she was lying prone on the ground.

Most of the soldiers, instead, had been either knocked out by the flash, by the shockwave or both. A good number of them, besides, found themselves with chunks of metal inside their bodies, only to collapse and slowly being led to death upon discovering it. The speed and momentum of the shards was too much even for their tactical vest to bear. It ripped apart their uniforms like butter.

To his shock and disgust, Cavers witnessed his weapon fall to the ground with his hand still on the stock. The gruesome sight left him speechless. He joined his men lying on the ground, while the snow was becoming red tainted with their blood.

The thunderous explosion waned, restoring the place to its silence. The oncoming blizzard filled the air as the latter regained his spot after being thrust away by the explosion.

Yuffie raised her head. The place had finally turned into a battlefield, as Reeve feared. And probably no one had yet alerted the HQ back in Edge.

She quickly stood up, running in the direction were she had last seen Cade. Soon she spotted him, sprawled on the ground, his helmet being knocked off the head.

As she got closer, she opened her mouth in shock as she noticed a sizeable pool of blood next to him

"Cade!" she shook him "Wake up! Please!"

She took a closer look at the wound. Apparently a chunk of metal had flown though his arm, leaving a gushing wound which was already closing, surprisingly. Nevertheless he had lost quite an amount of blood.

"Cade!" she shouted, hoping that the wound she saw was the only one. She could see spots on the back of his vest, were bullets had hit but had stopped on the outer layer of his bulletproof suit.

As she could not get an answer, she reached for her pouch again, looking for a Heal Materia. As she dipped his hand, Cade regained consciousness (wherever he had lost it) and grabbed her arm

"Save your Materia for later…" he said, sputtering the snow that got in his mouth. His face twisted as, along the senses, pain came kicking in again

"You got nearly maimed by a shard! Let me take care of it…" Yuffie offered

"No!" he fend her off swinging his arm. He got up, trying to counter the piercing sensation coming from the stressed arm. He finally managed to raise , knees on the ground. He let out a cry of pain as he squeezed his wound

"Damn it, Cade!" Yuffie angrily protested "Let me take care of it! There's no need to play the hero now!"

"Who cares about a shallow cut!" he told her. He scooped a handful of snow and poured on the wound

"That's not going to work and you know it…" Yuffie scolded him

"Again, who cares?" he replied as he finally managed to stand up. He collected his weapon from the ground and took a quick look around. The destroyed helicopters were still burning. The centre of what it was the landing zone was occupied by a giant pyre of fire, slightly sunk in a shallow crater. Bodies were scattered around everywhere.

How it could be?

An entire platoon, and maybe even more than that, who had turned to the enemy? Who else was about to betray them?

"Come on" he said, walking towards the edge of the cliff "Let's make that thing work!" pointing at the winch.

Yuffie followed him, as behind them clouds were covering the sky once again and the wind howled and howled louder and more menacingly.

5.

Thankfully, the winch was still operational. Nobody had tampered with the machinery so at least they still had a mean to return upstairs if they had to. And if they could.

The descent was slow and painfully long. Fear had caught them in a firm yet subtle pinch. Fear of what could happen next. Fear of what they could find.

And as Cade was concerned, fear that Kayla was in danger.

As the platform slowly descended, the Northern Crater revealed its fierce nature even more blatantly. The wind grew more intense and noisy and it dangerously shook the large platform, nearly sending it crashing against the sharp and acuminate rocky spurs of the cliff. The grey, fat cloud was concealing shades of green erupting from the bottom of the basin, due to the high concentration of Mako at the bottom of the pit. Electricity filled the air, as it felt like every droplet of water suspended in the atmosphere could ignite a spark

"So Mako won't be an issue, you say…" Yuffie asked

"At all" Cade replied "Even if so, it would be the last of our concerns"

"Watch out!" Yuffie screamed, as a sudden shear hit the platform, nearly making them loose balance.

As Yuffie and Cade held fast to whatever handhold they could find, they closed the distance between them and the bottom of that hellish pit. Soon they found themselves immersed in a scattered yet thick fog which, at times, made visibility drop to zero.

The rush of the battle had disappeared. They had not uttered a word since pulling the lever that activated the engine of the pulley. They shared pretty much the same feelings, which were crossing their mind like meteors, one sensation after the other one: fear, despair, impatience, apprehension.

Yuffie felt the urge of regaining some humanity after the endless stream of violence that had just occurred on surface. She reached for a handkerchief inside one of her pockets and without even probing for his consent, she tied it around the wound on his arm.

Cade stood still as a statue even while Yuffie symbolically tended to his ailment. Only when the handkerchief was firmly around his bicep, he caressed the place where the dressing had been applied and gave Yuffie a grateful yet faint smile.

Cade's eyes were gleaming, as Yuffie managed to notice even in the dim environment of the crater. He was probably already coming to term that he would have had to see something terrible once at destination. Yuffie had no hope of finding everyone safe and sound either, but her optimistic nature forced her to cultivate and shelter a flicker of hope. At least enough to give her the will to soldier on.

The platform reached the end of the run. The bang it made against the rock awoke them from their mental and physical torpor

"Come on" Cade whispered, hoisting his rifle "Let's search for someone…"

Yuffie nodded and proceeded after him, carefully tying not to lose contact with him. Everything was grey around them, the soil, the rock, their uniform. Even the sky was grey too, although it was higher than ever there.

The only noise was the sound of their footsteps and the explosion when a lightning struck meters away from them, briefly illuminating the scene. Thanks to that, Cade spotted something in the distance. He ran towards it

"Cade, wait!" Yuffie pled, catching up with him.

He knelt next to a body. A body wearing a WRO uniform soaked in blood. It was riddled with bullets and holes on the vest. Yuffie stood silent contemplating the macabre scene unfolding before her eyes.

A plethora of WRO soldiers was scattered on the ground in front of them. Cade, like a scavenging bird, began checking the ones with the orange overalls, leaping from one corpse to another, prey to a frantic urge. Again, Yuffie tried to stick to him, slipping on the spent bullets strewn like corianders across the ground.

Then it happened. Cade stopped by a figure on the ground far away from the rest of the dead WRO personnel. A figure that was clad in orange overalls and that still wore the helmet.

As she came closer herself, Yuffie noted that the figure on the ground had a blonde ponytail slipping from the grip of the helmet.

There her heart shattered into a million pieces. Her legs sprinted enough to join Cade, whose motionless and expressionless face had turned pale like the one of a drowned man. She ungraciously fell next to the young girl laying on the ground.

Cade was staring at Kayla's face. The young scientist seemed like she was peacefully asleep. Her face was angelic and beautiful like any other day, save for the streamlet of blood coming from her mouth.

Cade was holding her body in his arms. His hands had turned plain red as Yuffie noticed that she had been badly pounded by a volley of bullets to her chest.

For some kind of reason, both Cade and Yuffie did not burst into tears.

With an afflatus of life, Kayla opened her blue eyes. She smiled

"Cade…" she murmured, in a low and raspy voice, reaching for his face with her left hand

"You came to save me... eventually!" she managed to whisper. Yuffie could not think that despite being torn up by bullets and being on the verge of life, Kayla was still the embodiment of a sort of angelic being, smiling like a girl beholding a stack of presents the morning on Christmas Day

"Shhh!" Cade pressed a finger on her lips "It's all right. Save your forces. We are taking you somewhere safe!" he added, his words trying to put hope before despair

"I don't think… I don't think I'm going to make it…" Kayla said, closing her eyes as a bout of pain made her grew a grimace on her face

"Kayla, dear!" Yuffie opened his mouth for the first time, tears slowly seeping out of her eyes "Please hold on! Just let me do something…" she offered, reaching for her brown leather pouch.

Kayla laughed, her laughter being interrupted by a fit of cough. She stained Cade's uniform as blood was ejected as she coughed

"I… thank you for… coming" she managed to tell them "I tried to do my best…" she said faintly raising a pistol in her left arm "But I think my best was not enough…"

"You didn't tell me you knew how to shoot…" Cade smiled, for an instant sincerely marvelled by the discovery. His smile hurt Yuffie even more. The effort of a man who was trying to keep grief at bay to summon the strength to carry on.

Like he had done his entire life.

There was so much pain concentrated in such a small pace that, eventually, Yuffie found herself unable to bear it. She burst into tears

"Yuffie, love… please don't…cry!" Kayla comforted her, her hand combing trough the raven hair of the Wutaian ninja "I know… I really wish I… could have known you… better myself!"

Cade's hold of Kayla in his arm became stronger "It's my fault Kay. All of it…" he said, reverting to a nickname he had not used in a while

"I love you" he managed to say, his voice trembling "I always did. But I did not want it to end like this! I did not want to lose you too!"

"Me neither…" she replied, while Yuffie was resting her body on hers, caressing her back while crying "…but life is… strange. And un…predictable!"

"I love you, Cade" she finally said, using her last amount of strength to reciprocate Cade's embrace "Wherever… I shall go I'll keep an eye on you" she declared "and you too… Yuffie. I'll be with you two… always!"

"Now please…" she turned to Cade again "…go and kick that bastard's ass for me too… ok?"

"Sure thing I'll do!" he said, kissing her on the cheek and keeping his mouth pressed on her cold skin as long as he could

"Don't loose faith in yourself…Cade" she whispered, as life slowly but inevitably soared away from her, reaching her loved one with her hand for the last time "You have a great… future before you. Your past… only makes you stronger!"

She closed her eyes and Kayla finally took her path to a long, endless rest.

Cade burst into tears as well, curling on Kayla's lifeless body as if to protect her with his own during her passage to the hereafter, where her soul would have finally met the world such a gentle, kind and selfless being deserved

"I pray that you will have the blessing of being consoled…" Yuffie murmured, joining her hands, as she recalled the words the monks from the Da Chao temple had taught her when her own mother had passed away "May you know in your soul that there is no need to be afraid…"

She raised he head to meet Cade's reddish eyes, filled with tears

"I'm sorry" she whispered

Cade slowly shook his head "She had resisted way past what a human being is allowed to withstand" he said, proudly staring at Kayla and at the gun she had dropped next to her. Her face was again peaceful and dreamy "There was nothing that could have been done…"

Echoing step came from way down the crater. Someone, escorted by a staff or people still wearing WRO uniforms, emerged from the thick fog

"That was something I did not want to miss, for sure!" the man grinned.

Yuffie turned towards the man. She instinctively grabbed Kayla's handgun and aimed at Brad Clawbourne. He was standing there, bloated and with a satisfied look on his face. Beside him, his praetorian guard kept their rifle aimed at Cade and Yuffie. They cocked their weapon as Yuffie hoisted the pistol towards Brad

"Brad Clawbourne" the ninja shouted "I've know you for so little yet you are already the man I hate the most on this fucking planet!"

"So it was you all along, Brad" Cade commented, standing up and calmly revealing himself "I can't say I'm entirely sorry…"

"Why not?" Brad grinned again

"You gave me finally a good reason to kill you…" Cade spat

Brad laughed "The revenge you were looking for, for the entirety of your pitiful life…" Yuffie could not notice that Brad had really turned into the villain of the situation. It was not the bully, obnoxious, jock-like figure he had been so far. He was still obnoxious of course, but his aura was malignant just as the one of a typecast movie villain

"Well" Brad continued "Then why don't you tell your little friend over there to do that on your behalf…"

Cade stood silent, waiting for Yuffie's reaction. It was a very twisted Mexican-standoff: if Yuffie shot Brad, the soldiers would have killed them instantly. If they passed, maybe Brad would have killed them in turn. Or maybe not

"Yuffie" Cade pleaded "Put that thing down. We'd better give up!"

Somehow he felt that being killed was not actually on Brad's schedule. Better safe as prisoner than free spirits in a coffin. At least they still could do something while alive

"Shut up, Cade!" Yuffie countered "It's us or them!"

Brad shook his head "Surprisingly, I'd say I appreciate Cade's line of negotiation. Also because what good is a dead Cade, when I can turn his life into a living hell?"

Cade gave him a suspicious look. Yuffie grew surprised too. Brad stepped aside.

A soldier took his place.

His gun was lifted and he shot.

The flash of the muzzle alarmed Cade. The dimension and the shape of the flash told him that the rifle had been loaded with high-velocity ammo, the ones designed to penetrate materiel and… tactical vest.

The way the rifle was aimed horrified him. The soldier did not aimed at him. He had aimed at Yuffie.

The bullet left the muzzle at nearly supersonic speed, its aerodynamic design piercing through the thin air of the Northern Crater.

It hit Yuffie right at the centre of her chest. The impact, partially absorbed by the vest, made her slightly falter backwards.

The ninja stood for a second with her gaze down her handgun's eyesight. She finally looked down.

A red stain was slowly appearing around a black hole on her bulletproof vest. Unfortunately the Kevlar-made fabric could not stand a chance against the specially designed bullet, which lodged somewhere in her stomach.

She touched her wound and she stared with disbelief at the blood on her hand, starkly contrasting with her skin, now turning almost as white as the snow.

She fell to her knees.

Cade again died a million more times, watching her companion laying on the ground and slowly convulsing because of the pain she felt in her abdomen.

He wanted to shout, or better to die trying to at least bringing Brad with him. He couldn't. Something was restraining him, forcing him to witness that horrendous scene

"History repeats itself, right Tuesti?" Brad mocked him "Twice in a day. That's a personal best I'd say…"

"Fuck you" he quietly replied, a tear forming in his right eye as he could not look away from the Wutaian ninja, twisting her body as the acid juices of her stomach were flooding her abdomen, sending shards of pain after shards of pain. She finally belted out a shriek of pain that hurt Cade just like a _katana_ impaling him

"All right everyone!" Brad sternly addressed his men, walking towards the lift "Enough for today. Let's get out of here and plan a way out…"

As Brad and his party disappeared in the fog, Cade finally rushed towards Yuffie, the ninja crying out loud as she tried not to lose consciousness

"Cade!" she screamed, reaching for his arm and dragging him over her in a fit of strength stemming from her desperation

"I'm here Yuffie" he comforted her, reaching for a space in his vest where he could find the stuff he needed

"Cade, leave me here…" Yuffie pleaded "… get somewhere and tell everyone what happened… you have to stop them" she was interrupted by a fit of pain. She screamed again, bursting into tears as the pain came to be ultimately unbearable.

Cade wanted to cry as well, but he knew he had to be strong for the both of them

"I'll do" he assured her "And you'll be by my side, as you did today!"

Yuffie managed to smile between a grimace and the next one

"Cade…" she said

"Sorry Yuffie" he stopped her, producing a small leather case "I'm too busy trying not to kill you now" He opened it revealing a set of vials and the necessary tools for an IV. He quickly set up the syringe and sucked a few decilitres of adrenaline

"I… always hated… needles" Yuffie confessed

"Don't worry" he assured her "You won't feel a thing!"

In fact, Yuffie did not even flinch while the needle punctured her arm as Cade pressed the content of the syringe into her blood vessels. As the medication quickly kicked in Yuffie began rushing and breathing wildly, as she was feeling air being sucked out of her lungs

"Yuffie don't pass out on me!" he urged her as he lined next to her a set of forceps "Tell me anything!" he invited her

"If I die…" she told him, almost breathless "… tell my father I hated him… And tell him to bury next to my mom…" she cried again out loud. The waves of pain, numbed by the flow of adrenaline, were coming in again relentlessly

"…Oh, I miss her" she began cackling "…really really miss her!"

Yuffie's antics did not impress Cade, as he sweat trying to at least take the bullet out of her body

"Now Yuffie!" he instructed "Get a hold of me… right like that" Yuffie almost hugged him "This will be painful!" he warned

"Go on… I'm immune to pain…" she hysterically laughed

'She is beginning to enter shock' he thought,.

He examined the wound. He opened up her vest and lifter the fleece sweater. The bullet had torn through her clothes which were now soaked in blood

"Hey, are you trying to undress me? Cool?" Yuffie erupted, giggling "No foreplay, huh? Cade Tuesti, the man who does not need to ask…"

Unbelievably Cade started smiling at Yuffie's delirium. At least it was a way to break the tension. He finally reached for Yuffie's brown leathered pouch

"Hey!" she faintly protested "I'm the one who steals Materia!"

"Yuffie! Which one is the Heal Materia?" he asked

"The green one, idiot" she screamed "Wops! I called you idiot!" she swung from anger to despair. After that, she began kicking again to cope with the pain

"All right!" Cade exclaimed "Brace Yuffie! This is going to be bad…"

'Please, don't make me kill her…' he thought, before diving the forceps in the wound.

Yuffie scream was so strong and chilling that even the clouds seemed to open before it.

The princess of Wutai was all messed up with sweat, tears and blood. Cade could not feel the mass of the bullet, so he had to twist the steel tools, causing Yuffie to scream again

"Gawd! Why can't I die?" she protested. Cade shivered at the thought that Yuffie could die there in his arms, just like Kayla had done moments ago

"Because…" Cade patiently explained, as he finally and gratefully felt the forceps closing around the bullet. He began carefully pulling it outside "Because your dad would kill me. I'm not already welcomed in your land, that would be the final straw…"

"That fucking moron" Yuffie grinned, as the bullet emerged from the wound. The hygiene of that would-be theatre was a concern Cade had put aside from the beginning "I hate him" Yuffie continued slurring "I hate him, he is a pompous motherfucker, a control-freak. I wish I could give him the most painful delusion of all his life, because… I'm failed as a daughter" she finally cried

"Yuffie!" Cade told her as he lifted her vest to place the green, bright goblet of Heal Materia over her chest. The sphere slowly disappeared into her wrecked body with a glow

"You are the most courageous, bold, daring and caring human being on Gaia" he continued, as the Heal Materia was slowly making its way into her chest "You are too much of a brat sometimes but… nobody's perfect, right?"

Soon Yuffie's chest was engulfed by an expanding flash of light that grew to engulf Cade as well, forcing in to momentarily let loose of Yuffie's arm to shelter his eyes. Then it disappeared.

Yuffie's chest was anew again. Sure it was bloated and irritated but it seemed that the Materia had worked. Cade sighed and breathed out in relief.

Yuffie lazily opened back her eyes. She stared right into Cade's own. He could read all the distress, the suffering and the fatigue the poor ninja had gone through in the last few minutes

"Cade…" she murmured "Who the fuck did you call a 'brat'?"

Then her head leant back as she gradually passed out.

Cade quickly checked her vitals. After a few seconds he felt relief again as Yuffie had simply slipped out of consciousness. It could have been to the stress of having a bullet extracted from the belly in an environment which was nowhere as near as a field hospital.

He fell on his back next to Yuffie. The princess of Wutai was lying there, amidst the windmills of snow which were beginning to form at the bottom of the crater as well. That meant that the snowstorm up there was rolling out in full force.

He quickly made a resume of the situation: half of the task force deployed to the Northern Crater had gone rogue, half was dead. Yuffie needed proper medical treatment as soon as possible but there was no transportation around. Besides, given the recent events, who knew who he could trust now?

'And nobody knows what happened here' he realized 'We could land in Edge and be executed or arrested upon touching ground. Who knows…'

He took his PHS. It was useless there, as the mobile network was non existent there. He decided to use its special feature for the first time, entering a special code on the keyboard and activating a broadcasting distress beacon towards the _Shera._ If Cid had turned to the enemy, well then it was all over, for real.

He stared for a while upon Yuffie. Her pale skin was beginning to regain a more healthy-like hue of pink.

With more thoughtlessness than reason in his mind, he took off his vest and put it on Yuffie

"There you go" he said "I thought you could use a bit more warmth…"

Then he loaded Yuffie on her shoulder and made his way towards the winch with nothing on himself apart from a fleece sweater and the heavy duty trousers. He threw a last glance at were Kayla's body was resting. He shook his head. Then he started wondering if the lift was still serviceable.

It would have been quite a walk to reach Mr. Holzoff's cabin.


	11. Shera (II)

GONGAGA

1.

Yuffie felt funny.

She had opened her eyes, at last. Yet she did not feel as she was completely awake. To be honest, she did not even recall having gone to sleep.

She tried to move herself. Every gesture, motion or step forward was made more complicated by the fact that she felt oddly numb, all over her entire body. It was like trying to run while immersed in a thick, dense liquid. Like being immersed in a jar of honey

'Oh, sweet, sugary honey' she suddenly thought 'I would kill right now for a jar of honey…"

Well, at least her mind (and appetite) was as quick and lively as ever. Unlike her muscles.

Little by little, though, the feeling subsided and she could finally shift her focus on the surroundings, now that she could move freely. She opened her eyes once more and all of a sudden her sight was flooded with a flash of white light. She lowered her eyelids to shelter her vision from that relentless glare and to adjust her sight. She finally began to catch the shapes around her.

The place looked familiar and reassuring. She was oblivious to anything concerning where she could have been or even when, but the lush, green meadow she was treading barefoot, punctuated by cherry trees, felt like home

'I don't know where the hell I am' she thought to herself 'Yet I feel like I could not abandon this place for anything in this world…'

She felt like she was born again.

She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands. It felt too vivid to be a dream. The grass was dotted with chrysanthemums, lotuses and lots of other colourful and deliciously scented flowers. Cherry trees casted shadows on the ground pierced by the rays of light that made their way through the blossoms. Not a cloud covered the blue, ethereal sky.

'This must be heaven' she concluded.

According to her knowledge of the transcendent, though, only the departed reached heaven. That meant that probably she was dead. She ought to feel sadder but the vibes and the beauty of her place had a soothing effect on her soul. Yuffie was feeling better that ever, as she walked amongst the redbuds, admiring the chirping goldcrests perched on the boughs of the cherry trees

'I wonder how did I end up here' she wondered, caressing the foliage of the tree as she passed by 'Are the spirits of the departed allowed to know about what has happened to them? I think so…'

She examined the surroundings again, but nothing particular caught her attention. It was an endless expanse of Wutaian flora and fauna. As much as that place was quaint and cute and welcoming, she was beginning to feel lonely

'Am I supposed to enjoy all this by myself? Forever?' she asked herself 'No wonder everybody thinks dying sucks, then… I could use some damn company'

Her wandering thoughts were abruptly interrupted as she spotted a figure in the distance. She quietly approached to what it looked like a middle-aged woman sitting on her knees on the bank of an exact replica of a Wutaian-styled home-grown pond. Next to the woman there was a wicker basket full of flowers she had probably picked up from the ground. Her black, long hairs were collected in a _shimada_ and her pale and soft skin had virtually no wrinkles. The dark blue _yukata_ she wore had a white rose embroidered on the shoulder

'Mom?' she realized, then. A smile appeared on her face as a plethora of feeling went though her soul. Eventually, she became overcome with excitement and bliss

"Mom?" she repeated, this time out loud, her voice slightly trembling in anticipation.

The woman stopped fiddling in the water with a small wooden stick and turned to her. Yuffie smiled even more, as the lady in front of her was in fact Kasumi Kissaragi, her beloved mother.

She was right as she remembered her in her heydays, before the illness took her away. She was beautiful indeed and with great chance the most lovable, caring and joyful being on Earth. Yuffie felt immensely grateful to whomever or whatever had given her the chance to appreciate once again her company. Even if that meant abandoning the life on Gaia of which she had virtually no remembrances. The heart of the ninja was exploding with love and happiness, and these feelings could not be diminished or shadowed by anything

"Yuffie!" Kasumi exclaimed, with a hint of surprise "Nice to see you came to visit your achy, old, mom!"

Yuffie started crying, as she run towards her. She reached her and grabbed her in the steady grip of her arms even before the first tear could touch the ground, nearly throwing her in the pond as she literally jumped between her arms

"Whoa, easy there, Yuffie!" Kasumi erupted in a laughter, as she was nearly thrown on the ground by the momentum of Yuffie's tackle "Your mom is quite an old lady. I can't possibly keep up with your strength!"

"I missed you, mom" Yuffie uttered, burrowing her face in Kasumi's chest, yearning for the warmth she had longed for so much time

"Hey, you surely grew up!" Kasumi observed, with her trademark jovial tone of voice which delighted Yuffie as a child "Let's have a look at the beautiful woman you are now…" she added, wiping the tears away from Yuffie's face

"Mom" Yuffie finally managed to say "What am I doing here?" she asked

"Don't be so anxious sweetie" her mom told her "It's been a long time since we last met. And back then I was not really a beauty. Am I right?" she giggled

"You have… you are always beautiful, mom" Yuffie replied, shaking her head "You are the most beautiful mom on the face of Gaia. Always been and always will be!" she firmly stated, regaining the gleam in her light. She felt relieved of a burden that stood over her heart for too much, as now she had had the chance to properly tell her mom how much she loved her

"Oh, Yuffie" Kasumi shook her head "You say so just because I'm your mother and you were so small back then. Thank the Maker you were too small to remember a thing…"

"That's the point!" Yuffie interrupted her "That's how I want to remember you. As the most beautiful mother that has ever walked across the land of Wutai, long and broad. And finally I can tell you that" she proudly exclaimed

Kasumi hugged her daughter again, rubbing her back. Yuffie threw her arms around her again

"You did quite a feat, yourself" Kasumi commented, examining Yuffie "You surely became the prettiest warrior-princess of Wutai. Hopefully you took from my side of the family, no offence to Godo of course!" she laughed again "Well, I bet there's a queue outside the Pagoda of suitors playing their chances, up to the Da Chao mountain…"

Yuffie paused. A worried smile grew on her face

"Ehm, not really mom…Not yet" she explained, embarrassed

"Oh, Yuffie" Kasumi sighed "The throne of Wutai is a serious issue. I hope with all my heart that you'll marry someone you truly love but you really think you consider your responsibilities as heiress to the House of Shinobi…"

"You do sound like dad, you know?" Yuffie replied, amused

"Ah, Godo" Kasumi sighed "Ruling Wutai is nothing as easy as it was back in the days"

"Look mom" Yuffie explained "I don't really see myself as someone nearly as… good as you at raising a kid. Let alone an entire country!"

Kasumi smiled again "Yuffie, your apprehension is all but illegitimate" she said, slowly caressing her on the cheek "But time is a valuable thing and does not come at an unlimited rate, so don't let chances slip away from your hands while you can. Or you will regret them later…"

"Does it really matter, now?" Yuffie sighed, opening her arms indicating the surroundings

"What do you mean, honey?" Kasumi asked her, puzzled

A voice came from behind them, breaking the hiatus in their conversation

"Hey, do you mind if I join the conversation?"

Yuffie turned her head instantly as she immediately recognized it.

A young girl was standing inches from the ninja's back. She must have made her way to that spot quietly and carefully, since Yuffie had not heard her footsteps at all. The princess of Wutai sprung from her place and met the newly arrived face to face.

Contemplating the blue eyes of the girl, and her auburn, long hair Yuffie felt her heart leaping from her chest and taking a dive into a sea of fondness without equals, save for her very mother

"Aerith!" she nearly screamed

The girl by the name of Aerith smiled

"Sorry for being late" she apologized, in a soft voice "but I had to take care of something really urgent"

"Don't worry dear" Kasumi shook her head "You came just in time. Watching the kois swimming in the pond is relaxing but after a while you grow tired of that easily…"

Yuffie hugged Aerith squeaking with excitement. Aerith blushed upon such an act of affection

"Enthusiast as always, Yuffie" Aerith coughed, smiling "Well I'm glad I can have the chance to see you too"

As they separated, Yuffie's face was overcastted by a shady cloud of sadness

"Aerith" she urgently pleaded "Why am I here? Please tell me! Did I…"

"Die?" Aerith finished for her. Yuffie stood in silence as she eagerly waited for an answer

Kasumi broke the silence

"Nearly, my dear" she said in a surprisingly stern voice "As far as I can tell and hear from here, you are still after trying to worry your mother like you did back in the days. Oh, you nearly turned your poor mom into a flurry mass of grey hairs with your antics…" she laughed, trying to ease any tension her previous words may have brought to Yuffie "… but I couldn't help myself loving you even more even after you pulled those stunts of yours!"

"Mom that's not right!" she protested "I was just…"

What she was doing? She did not know. What did she remember? Nothing, here's what she remembered. The most distant remembrance she had was her waking up from what it looked like and endless sleep, a slumber with no beginning. Prior to that, an awkward void

"Yuffie…" Aerith calmly , sat next to her mother, as she began explaining "It's not your time. Not yet"

"Your dress is lovely, dear" Kasumi marvelled at Aerith's attire "You know, I never really separate from my beloved _yukata_ but I'd try something new every now and then" she commented, meddling with the laces on Aerith's dress

"Anytime, miss Kissaragi" Aerith happily replied "That means I'll get the chance to try the _yukata_ myself…"

"You haven't done it yet?" Kasumi replied, almost shocked by the revelation

'They look like two middle-aged women chatting at the hairdresser's saloon' Yuffie thought, contemplating the scene. Despite being just a couple of years older, Aerith had a remarkable motherly spirit. That's why she got along so well with Kasumi. It was a matter of spirit

"Mom…" Yuffie murmured, her words flowing from her mouth driven by a sudden and mysterious urge "I know I still have to grow up some more. There are things I have to take care of, but they scare me. They scare me more than anything else in the world!"

Kasumi interrupted her dialogue. She turned to Yuffie, with a lovely smile on her face, as she always did

"Yuffie, sweetie" she said "Come take a place next to us!" she invited. Yuffie complied

"What are you afraid of, Yuffie?" Aerith asked, as the ninja sat down on the grass

"Responsibilities?" Kasumi guessed "Or is the fear of failing someone?"

"Both, I suppose…"

"That's because you have never really faced them, honey" her mom replied, caressing her shoulder "That's the way problems are: they become bigger and bigger when you try to run away from them"

"Then what am I supposed to do? Try to be someone better more responsible in my next life?" she cried

"Yuffie, why do you think you are dead?" Aerith asked her "I told you already it's not your time…"

"But mom told that…" Yuffie said

"I told you have _nearly_ died" Kasumi corrected her

"So why…" Yuffie muttered, starting to feel uneasy as she still had to understand basically everything

"Sometimes people get lost on their way, and they end up here" Aerith explained, in her low, quiet, sweet tone. Yuffie stared at her like she could not look at anything else when those lips moved and let out that beautiful melody that was Aerith's voice

"At least, when they end up here" she continued "they can rest for a while and get some help to avoid straying further from their road…"

Yuffie looked back at her mom. Something in her mind lit, as she finally found the words she needed to tell her

"Mom" he asked "Is there something you should tell me?"

"Of course" her mom promptly replied "You see, Yuffie, although now I'm but one of the millions of souls in the Lifestream, I can hear Godo raving and going mad at you or at everyone else unlucky enough to get too much close to him when he's infuriated. I think you will understand rather easily why he's so bewildered"

Yuffie bowed her head, ashamed. One thing was to stand and bear her father's scolding, one thing was seeing her mom being disappointed as well. And in the afterlife, in addition to that

"But sometimes, he's sad, very sad. Sadder than he would like to show, especially to you. He's sad because he thinks it is his fault if you are the way you are, because he knows how much you miss me and he thinks he is not good enough as a father, or at making up for your loss…"

"Mom!" Yuffie quietly sobbed, startled by the revelation

"One day he will pass away and will convince himself that maybe he has done quite good as leader of Wutai, giving the current times. Too bad he will not think the same when it comes to his role as a father. Behind his harsh demeanour, there's someone who is trying to get along with his daughter but is also worried about her, about how she sees her dad. And, of course, also worried about an entire country and all the people living in it. Godo really cares about you. He's just afraid of doing the wrong move, not because he's coward of what, but because you are the most precious thing he has"

"Then why he does not admit it? It would be much easier…" Yuffie asked

Kasumi puffed "Don't wait for him to do the first step, because he will not do that. Believe me" she grinned "I've know him for a bit longer than you… Male pride is a nasty thing!"

"Yuffie" Aerith intervened "All the things your mom is telling you, you already know them. You just have to learn how to properly deal with them…"

"You are a powerful being Yuffie" her mom told the ninja "Since you were a kid you were my utmost joy and pride. Life tests us every now and then but if you look inside yourself and listen to your heart, whether will be to save the world or rule a country, you will be just fine…"

Yuffie looked at her again, her eyes filling with tears. She could feel the warmth of her mother's words reaching her heart

"Now" Kasumi invited her "Are you feeling better now?"

Yuffie nodded, smiling

"So, would you care now to come and hug your mom?" she invited

Yuffie did not have to listen to it twice. She walked to Kasumi and hugged her again

"Mom, I love you" she quietly said

"I'm proud of you Yuffie" Kasumi whispered to her "And Godo is proud of you too. Try to talk to him. I'll be by your side…"

"Mom" Yuffie continued "There's a lot more I'd like to tell you…"

"And you have a lot more to do down there" Kasumi replied, while separating form her "It's not yet our time to be together…"

Yuffie nodded again, a hint of determination now in her eyes. She turned to Aerith "Well, the same goes for you, Aerith"

Aerith smiled "I'll keep an eye on you, as well. And on whoever you'll ask"

"Thanks!" Yuffie told her, standing up and reaching for her "But how do I get back now? Is there an exit or what?" she asked

Aerith giggled "Don't worry. There's no need to hurry…"

"Oh" Yuffie muttered "Well, then I'll wait"

"Good" Aerith said, closing the distance between them "By the way, someone you know told me to say 'Hi' to you…"

A puzzled expression grew on the ninja's face "Someone I know?" she enquired

Aerith nodded "Do you remember about Kayla, don't you?"

"Kayla?" Yuffie questioned her. An eerie, indescribable sensation began to take a hold on her

"Don't worry" Aerith smiled "This will help…"

As she leant a hand on Yuffie's chest, an electric shock ran through Yuffie's spine.

She woke up. This time for real.

2.

"Did you call for me?" doctor James Bannion asked, while running towards the hospital room from which an almost inhumane cry came from

"Yes, doctor Bannion" a nurse replied, waving her hand in the direction of his colleagues in the room "She woke up!" she relayed to the doctor

"How could it be?" Bannion marvelled, still panting because of the run from his studio to the patient ward "According to the prognosis, she should have stayed in a coma for at least a week!"

"She simply opened her eyes while we were checking her treatment" the nurse told him "Then she started screaming and going for the leads on her chest"

"Has anything been done while I was coming?"

"No, doctor" the nurse replied "We were told to wait for your instruction. No sedation and no drugs whatsoever"

"Good" Bannion nodded

The newly built clinic in Gongaga was up to date and well equipped but maybe it had a capacity that far exceeded the needs of the small town. Physicians had just recently complained that the meeting rooms and studios where built too far from the patients, and the jog the doctor had to endure was a proof of that. It was simply too big.

The nurse escorted him inside the room were two other nurses where busy trying to contain the patient who was crying and jumping on the bed, apparently prey to a convulsive fit, sprawling her arms and legs around. Tubes and wires were sprawled on the floor. A corrugated pipe hang loose next to the bed

"Remind me who we've got here…" the doctor asked, while the shrieks of the patient were broken by violent fits of cough

"After-effects of a bullet wound on stomach healed by Materia" a nurse read from a file "Chances of sepsis. Post-surgery treatment. She has been into unconsciousness plus a drug-induced coma for two days"

"Current treatment?"

"Antibiotics and saline drips" the nurse referred "She was suffering from dehydration too"

"Can we proceed with a dose of Triazolam?" another nurse asked, trying to prevent the right arm of the patient from dealing him a jab

"She's been in a coma for two days" the doctor shook his head "We can't risk her to slip out of consciousness again. We might lose her for good this time"

"Then what do we do?" the nurse at the other side of the bed frantically asked, trying to negotiate both the left arm and leg of the girl on the bed

"Try to tie her to the railings, for now. Get the straps from someone at the Psychiatric Ward" he instructed "I'll try and see if we can give her something milder… or, better off, nothing at all"

"You are not going to tie me to this motherfucking bed!" the patient shouted, trying to breathe in as much air as she could as one of her fist descended on the railing

"Don't make her hyperventilate!" a nurse told his colleague "She might syncopate!"

"Just leave me alone!" the patient screamed again, trying to wrestle away the nurses "And tell me where I am!"

"Calm down, lady" the doctor told her, extracting his pen-lighter from the pocket of his vest. He placed himself over the bed, looking right into the pale face of the girl, twisted by the uneasiness of a sudden awakening from a coma and the urge to know her own whereabouts. He pointed the beam of light right into her brown eyes

"Argh!" the patient protested, grinning her teeth "Put that fucking thing away, please!"

"All right" the doctor concluded "isocyclic and isochoric pupils. That's a good sign, for a start…"

"What the hell is happening here? Somebody tell me, please!" the girl asked, finally letting go of her will to fight the nurses away from her bed. Her tone had stabilized to a more frightened rather than feisty one

"Shall we try a lighter dosage?" a nurse asked

"No, I'll try not to resort to medications…" Bannion shook his head

"Where am I?" she asked again, gasping, her breast rapidly moving up and down. At least the girl had stopped shaking

"Young lady, I'll be happy to tell you everything" the doctor began "But first I have to ask you a couple of questions…"

Tears ran on her cheeks as exhaustion began to overwhelm her. That and a bout of panic

"Where am I?" she asked again, almost begging, her voice broken by her heavy breathing

"You're in a hospital. In Gongaga. Did you know that?" the doctor replied

"Gongaga?" the girl stared at him "This can't be…"

Meanwhile a nurse was slipping the cuff of the sphygmomanometer up on her left arm. The girl just briefly tipped her head towards it to take a quick look, but without protesting anymore

"There's no need to hold her any longer, trust me" he instructed again his staff, as the nurses backed from the bed "What's your name?" the doctor asked, then

"Yuffie…" the girl distractedly answered back. The cuff on her arm began expanding "Yuffie Kissaragi"

"When is your birthday?"

"Twentieth… November" she replied, as pieces of information started to come together in her mind

"Ok, Miss Kissaragi" the doctor resumed "As I told you before, you are in a hospital. Do you remember why did you get here?"

Yuffie paused. Then she started sobbing "No" she said "I don't remember anything at all…"

"Pressure 100 on 160. Saturation at 96… Frequency at 140 but descending" a nurse quietly read out the result the monitor gave out

"Look" the doctor told Yuffie "I don't think is the case to disclose you everything at once. You were brought here by airship while tended by a medical crew. Apparently you have been involved in a gunfight or some sort of accident during a drill. That's all I've been told"

"A… gunfight?" Yuffie asked, as her heart began beating faster again "And what do you mean I came here by airship?"

Bannion was about to reply when a commotion grew outside her room. Everyone, included Yuffie, turned towards the door, as a thunderous and raspy voice blended with the sharper tone of a nurse

"Sir" the nurse in the hallway anxiously protested "This is an intensive care unit, you are not allowed to…"

"I don't give a rut" the man, as the voice implied, cut her short "Just let me see her…"

The door was slammed open and the mountainous, bulky shape of Cid Highwind appeared on the threshold. Yuffie's eyes lit with relief

"Cid" she screamed "Oh, at last a face I recognize. For Heaven's sake, what the hell is going on?"

"Jeez, don't you remember a thing?" he swore "Hey, doc! Did she hit her head or what?"

"Apparently" the doctor explained, unfazed by Cid's manners "The TAC scan and RMI showed no signs of brain damage. But the shock may have interfered with her short-term memory. Besides, medications are heavy in her bloodstream…"

"Blah blah blah" Cid scoffed "Enough of your chitchat. Is she fine or not?"

"Well, yes. She's out of danger, but…"

Meanwhile Yuffie witnessed the confrontation, without knowing whether to feel amused by Cid's outlandish behaviour or worried, for she still did not know why she was in a hospital in a place like Gongaga. From the sight she enjoyed through the window, she could spot palm trees and a clear sky. Funny enough since the last thing she remembered was a snowstorm…

'A snowstorm?'

…and a greyish, dim place. Did she grew teleportation abilities, by any chance?

"Don't worry doc!" Cid patted the doctor "She will get all the rest she needs with us"

"She is still frail" Bannion countered "I would recommend at least a couple of more days here, where we can check her progression and monitor her status more closely. She reacted pretty badly from recovering consciousness so…"

"Doctor!" Yuffie intervened. The physician turned to her, while the nurses checked the monitoring equipments around the bed

"Yes?"

"What's your name?" she asked

"Uh, Bannion" he tapped his badge with the pen "Doctor James Bannion"

"Look, I'm sorry if I have treated you or your staff savagely when I woke up" she apologized, as Bannion replied with a slight nod and briefly closing his eyes "But I truly need to know what happened… Please!"

"Maybe I can give it a try…" a voice offered

Another man had appeared at the door. He was less prominent than Cid, but he looked quite authoritarian in his grey WRO uniform.

'The WRO?'

A bell rang in her mind, as she caught a glimpse of the name tag on his uniform

"Evan?" she incredulously marvelled

"That's right" Evan nodded "Do you remember me?"

"I… I think so…" Yuffie replied

"Where have you been?" Cid asked him

"I was keeping an eye…" Evan paused, clearing his throat "… you know…"

"Oh" Cid nodded "I see…"

Yuffie grew a suspicious face

"Doctor Bannion" Evan asked "If you don't have to perform anything urgent or critical here, may I ask you to leave us alone for a couple of minutes?"

Bannion exchanged a brief look with the rest of his staff

"I think we can allow you that" he said, as he proceeded towards the door, followed by the nurses "I'll be here outside for your convenience"

"You have my gratitude" Evan smiled

As the medical staff left the room and closed the door behind them, Evan took a chair and sat next to the bed

"Well now, Evan. Cid, I'm glad to see you…" Yuffie exclaimed "So what's going on?"

"First things first!" Evan raised his hands "Yuffie, I should tell you beforehand that, as your short-term memory is a bit blurred as for now, you need to recall what happened two days ago. All right"

"Two days ago?" Yuffie asked, unbelievingly "I've been knocked out for two days?"

"Yep, sure thing" Cid grunted

"So, let's make this quick" Evan spurred her "What's the last thing you remember?"

Yuffie paused, rolling her eyes upward, almost as if it would have made recalling information easier

"Snow" she finally said "Lots of snow"

"And why do you remember snow?"

"Because…"

'Because you were in Northern Crater, sent on a special assignment by your friend Reeve Tuesti to watch out for a terrorist group that might wanted to sabotage an expedition to retrieve some Mako to prevent the world to end…'

It was like a computer being rewired again. The motherboard in her brain sparkled as the flow of memories burst through her mind like a powerful stream of water bursting through a wrecked dam

"… There it is!" she screamed "I've got it. I was on a mission with the WRO and…"

'And it went awfully bad. Half of the team sent there turned its back and joined the enemy and the other half was simply annihilated, taken by surprise'

"… and it was a disaster!" she realized, as she gripped the blankets even more firmly and drops of sweat started running on her skin to the furious pace of those sudden revelations

"Evan!" she further realized "They were on their payroll! All of them, that bastard son of a bitch of Brad Clawbourne. He killed them all… All of them!" she yelled

'And he killed Kayla as well. Remember that sweet, savvy girl who dreamt of nothing but to raise a… what did she called it… a biosphere! A zoo for nerds, basically! Well, to each their own…'

Yuffie flew towards Evan, sprawling the blankets away and reaching for the pleats for his uniform

"Evan!" she cried, eyes watered again "We must warn Reeve. The Movement, those terrorists struck at our task force but they had their agents between our ranks. They took the Mako away…"

"Calm down, Yuffie. Please!" Evan urged her, as he tried to get rid of Yuffie's hold on his attire as gently as he could

"Yeah, calm down" Cid echoed "Otherwise doc will burst in again and kick us out!"

"Calm down?" Yuffie repeated, flabbergasted and reddish "A bomb just exploded on our hands and you tell me to calm down? How can I calm down when the WRO is in danger, Reeve is in danger and the world is about to end?"

A moment of silence ensued. Only Yuffie's frantic breathing could be heard, as she repeatedly stared upon both Evan and Cid, waiting for a response

"Yuffie" Evan finally spoke "The situation is critical. But it's also complicated"

"What do you mean?" Yuffie enquired

"Reeve already knows what has happened in the Northern Crater…"

"How could it be? Nobody escaped alive from there. At least nobody of the good guys…" Yuffie wondered. Then again, a relay in her memory circuitry was triggered. Her eyes opened wide as another piece of the jigsaw had found its place

"Cade…" she murmured "Where is Cade?" again, this time louder

"Yuffie, Cade is alright, more or less…" Evan replied

"What do you mean 'more or less'?" she vehemently asked

"He's here too" Cid answered "That kid is just as thick as he is moron, if you let me give my take on that…"

"Yuffie" Evan continued "Reeve already knows what happened. Brad told him"

"Brad!?" shock and surprise gripped her mind. Brad Clawbourne, the despicable bastard that had killed Kayla and many others as well, had told Reeve that the MPM had attacked a vital mission of the World Regenesis Organization. That could mean only one thing…

"Yes" Evan nodded "As soon as Brad and the remnants of the expedition had unexpectedly returned from the Northern Crater, he has reported to the Joint Staff of the WRO that elements of the expedition had gone rogue…"

"… and those members were led by you and Cade" he concluded

"That can't be…" Yuffie whispered, filled up to the brim of her body with disbelief. They had been cheated, and for good. She felt the urge to abandon herself on the bed again, as the unexpected turn of event sucked every bit of energy from her muscles. She fall on her back with a muffled thud on the blankets

"And then what happened?" she asked, staring at the ceiling

"Apparently Brad has been appointed interim Chief of the Joint Staff, as an emergency measure, following the murder of his father in the WRO headquarters…"

Yuffie awaited the next detail of the information

"… for which Reeve has been indicted and imprisoned"

She closed her eyes. The situation was disastrous. She wondered if it could turn even worse than that

'Well, how about the world being about to be wiped away?' she realized

She sunk in her bed. Part of her just wanted to stand there, hopelessly, waiting for everything to come to an end. Both her life and the world itself. As quickly as possible. She did not want to think of his father would have reacted upon hearing the news that her daughter was a terrorist

"How? How could it be?" she murmured

"I'm sorry" Evan told her "Here, take a look at that…" he said, passing her a tablet over which a newsfeed was played

"… apparently a faction of the WRO, headed by the Director Reeve Tuesti, which is now withheld in an undisclosed location, had planned a coup d'état which has been halted by the intervention of the WRO units still loyal to the General Staff" a reporter was narrating from a broadcasting studio, with the image of the WRO Headquarters in the background "Interim head of the General Staff Colonel Brad Clawbourne has told the media that the faction headed by the impeached and arrested Director Tuesti is behind the actions of a terrorist organization, the Meteor Purification Movement, responsible for the ambush on a WRO expedition in the Northern Crater Region, headed by Clawbourne himself"

Yuffie carefully followed the broadcast, taking the tablet into her own hands

"That S.O.B. made himself a present by slapping the rank of Colonel on his chest…" Cid nagged

"Unbelievable…" she shook her head, as the journalist carried on with her report

"Colonel Clawbourne, whose father Adrian Clawbourne has been murdered in a confrontation inside the WRO Headquarters during the early stages of the thwarted coup, has also stated that two other key figures in the plot are still wanted and that a massive manhunt is underway, along with a worldwide crackdown of the elements hostile to the WRO. The identity of the two suspects has not been revealed to the public. In the other news, the disappearance in the sky of the Green Aurora has been welcomed by citizens…"

The broadcast ended. Yuffie stared at the screen

"Yuffie, I know lots of things have happened recently" Evan told her "I haven't been able to figure them all myself but…"

"Evan?" Yuffie asked

"What?"

"Why should I trust you?"

Evan briefly paused, wrong-footed by that sudden and sharp question

"Yuffie, don't worry!" Cid intervened "I'll vouch for him. Also because if he pulls a trick, his ass going to fly from the _Shera_ at once!"

"Thanks for the assurance, Cid" Yuffie thanked him

"Is that enough for you?" Evan tentatively asked, rubbing his neck

"Yes, if Cid puts things that way, it is enough" she decisively replied "Did you come here all by yourself?"

"No" Evan said "I was in Niebelheim, following a drill of a company of the Special Intervention Service Force and Cid picked me and the squad on his way to the Northern Crater…"

"The Special what?" Yuffie enquired

"A newly raised special purpose element of the WRO. Coincidentally they had a medical team embedded at that time, so they came in handy"

"We stopped here in Gongaga because we wanted to avoid having to check you in at a clinic even barely related to the WRO. The General Staff has not yet released your identity but they will probably do it any time…"

"Anyway, don't worry, Yuffie" Cid continued "Evan here hopped on the _Shera_ as soon as Cade sent the distress signal. If it wasn't for him we wouldn't have been able to fly past anything under WRO control… Besides, he was the only one who could possibly think that Cade was not what Clawbourne had told the General Staff" he laughed

"Cade!" Yuffie suddenly stood up "Where is he?"

"He did something very noble" Evan explained "Or stupid, depending on the case…"

"How many people would carry somebody in a snowstorm just like the one that happen in the Northern Crater with only a sweater on?" Cid told her

"He did what?" Yuffie asked, shocked beyond belief

"We found you and Cade in the middle of a storm on a plain leading to the southern edge of the Crater Region. He was barely dressed and was suffering from advanced exhaustion and frostbite…"

Yuffie nervously bit her lip

"When we found you two, he told us that you had been shot and that he managed to cure you with the Materia you had on yourself. Then he passed out…"

"Me? Been shot?" Yuffie incredulously wondered, as she lifted her shirt. A giant, violaceous bruise stood on her chest "Who… where did I get that?"

'Oh, sorry I forgot to remind you' the voice in her head kicked in 'Brad is the sadistic guy. He lodged a bullet in your chest just to make things easier for Cade. Not many people can tell the tale of how they survived a gunshot in their bowels. And you will be missing a Heal Materia or two in your pouch. Guess who used it to save you?'

So that was it, finally. Cade had saved her life, nearly at the expense of his own. Yuffie felt somehow a sense of guilt taking over. She wanted to cry. Or to pass out. Or both. She had been burdened with too much information in such a short span of time she did not even know how to react. But one thing she knew for sure. One thing she wanted to do

"I want to see him…" she said

Evan and Cid exchanged a worried look

"I don't think the doctor will like that…" Evan warned her

"Please!" he begged "Just let me… thank him at least"

Evan bowed his head. Then he stood up and made his way to the door

"Let me give it a try" he said, before disappearing behind the door

When he returned, a couple of minutes later, Yuffie was still coming to terms with the news that she had nearly been killed because. Then she remembered the dream she had while in a coma, and recalled the words her mother told her. She had still a lot of things to do. Probably her time was yet to come, and it was all thanks to the guy she had so despised initially, but that she had came to appreciate even more as she spent time with him. She could not think of how much she was fond of him right now, after he had saved his life

'And after he had lost again someone he loved' she thought, sighing at the remembrance of Kayla, her body resting on the bare, cold surface of the crater, her soul departing to the Lifestream leaving a grief-stricken Cade behind her.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Evan, who had returned from his talk with the doctor

"As I supposed" he began "The doctor is not really keen on letting you walk but since you are under our custody, I will take full responsibility for what will happen"

"Have you put me under arrest, by chance?" she asked

"At all" Evan replied "But as a member of the WRO who got injured during a drill, I'm entrusted with your safety"

Cid produced a rucksack, throwing it onto Yuffie's lap

"Brought you some brand new clothing" he said

"That's very nice of you, Cid" she replied as she sorted the continent of the bag "And they are not bad at all, although they do not really match my style…"

"Sorry about that" the mechanic replied, pulling the curtain next to the bed, providing the ninja with some privacy "But I really did not have time to stop over and pick my wife's everyday clothing"

Yuffie got rid of her hospital gown and carefully stretched her legs to pull the trousers up to her waist. Her legs ached a bit but she carried on. She wondered who wore them last, as she proceeded to slip the t-shirt and the jacket over her head

'Well, at least they don't smell funny' she thought

As she pulled the curtain open, she proceeded to descend from the bed. Luckily for her she did not have any intravenous device on her, save for a small butterfly needle still attached to the pit of her right elbow, which she left there

"Watch out!" Evan warned her, reaching for her

"Don't worry" Yuffie calmed him, testing her legs as she carefully slipped down the mattress. She had sensibility and strength, so she felt more confident and quickly stood up "See? I'm fine!" she smiled

"Good" Evan nodded "Let's go then"

They made their way for the bed where Cade had been brought to, without anyone, nurse, doctor or orderly interfering. They stopped in front of the door of the room where Cade had been confined. Yuffie swallowed as she got a hold of the door-knob

"So" Evan told her "Are you ready?"

Yuffie did not even pay attention to that question. She simply pushed the door open, slightly casting Cid and Evan aside.

The room was somehow similar to the one she had been. Bulky machines and their protruding tubes and wires stood next to a green curtain concealing the bed. She reached for it while Cid and Evan closed the door as they entered following her.

Upon pulling the curtain, she could not prevent a moan from escaping her mouth.

Cade was there, apparently asleep, an oxygen mask over his mouth. The hardships of the recovery from his ailments had taken a toll on his appearance. His skin was pale, almost greyish and his black hairs were reduced to a sprawling ball of fur sticking to his forehead. The skin that was not covered by the blankets was largely all wrapped up in bandages

"Cade…" Yuffie murmured, feeling the ground going missing under her feet

"The doctors said he suffered a severe case of frostbite and exposure, with everything that came along with it…" Evan commented

"They even said he's lucky being alive, the moron" Cid added, grumping

"They did some grafting to repair the skin that has gone missing because of the cold burns" Evan continued "Therefore he needs to recover form the surgery first"

Yuffie stood there, next to the man who had exposed himself to the fiercest snowstorms on Gaia to save her life. Guilt and gratitude were dancing hand in hand inside her, as she resolved not to cry

"The medical staff has not yet pronounced a prognosis for now" the WRO officer reprised, as Yuffie could not stare away from Cade, who was laying on the bed with the back raised to an angle "They don't know when he will wake up…"

"And if so" Cid intervened, staring away from the bed "they don't know how he will turn out to be. Damn doctors, two thousands year of studies and yet they can't even cure a fucking cold" he bitterly concluded, abruptly leaving the room. He shut the door quite violently

"Sorry about him" Evan apologized "I think Cid is not the best one when it comes to deal with certain stuff"

"It's all right" Yuffie quietly told him, as her hand ran over the bandages on Cade's arm, swirling around the tubes of the intravenous devices "Cade, why have you done something so… stupid? I told you, you had to leave me there…" she whispered, holding his bare hand, as if it would have conveyed better her message

"I think I'll leave you alone…" Evan suggested, walking outside without even waiting for an answer.

As the door closed again, Yuffie knelt beside the bed

"Cade" she began, as she tried to put words together "I… should thank you for saving my life, first. That should be quite imperative, I suppose… My father will build a monument to the saviour of the Princess of Wutai, or maybe he will just give a pat on your back" she nervously chuckled as her voice was killed by the inability to express what she felt

"I'm sorry, I suck at speeches… I even laugh when I should cry instead" she continued, her voice shaking "I'm sorry for what happened to Kayla. I know that you really loved her, despite the distance that working together put between you. And she loved you too. I don't know, I can't imagine and I can't understand what it means to lose again someone you love. Reeve had already told me about your parents, and your life… and I hope you can hear me but you are a hell of a guy if you managed to made it all this way. If only you two had made it through together you would have lived happily ever after, like in a fairytale "

"But it's all far from being a fairytale. The situation is actually mess. Is a big fucking mess" she added, wiping away a tear that had escaped her eye "Your uncle, Reeve, is locked up and the MPM and Brad have managed to put the world against us somehow. Cid and Evan are fine, thankfully. We still have some allies as far as I've understood but after everything that has happened I would give up at once, at least to spend my last days on Gaia peacefully, relaxing and trying to take care of the loose ends in my life, like having a father-daughter talk with my dad" she theatrically scoffed "But whenever I do, you pop up in my mind and I realize how much you would scold me even for thinking something like that, because you are not someone who gives up that easily. Right?"

"So, please" she concluded "I need you. I need you to fight whoever is behind all this. I need someone like you beside me, because for once in my life I know I can't do this all by myself. Please, Cade, wake up. All right? Wake up and do what Kayla asked you before she passed away, all right? Let's do this together and let's be heroes. It's cool being heroes, isn't it?"

She stood there in silence for a while, as a small tear ran over her face. She rested with her head over Cade's unconscious body, still holding his hand fast

"You know, I really hated you the first time we met" she continued, as her hand gentled his chest through the bandages "You were obnoxious, loud, harsh, impulsive… but then Reeve told me the story of your life and I realized there was something more about you. You always smile no matter what, and you had a life that would turn someone into a recluse or a criminal. I love your spirit, Cade. The world needs someone like you! Damn it, it sounds like a damn line from a fucking superhero movie…"

This time she could not contain her tears, as they wet the wrappings she was leaning over with her head. Her throat was exploding with the cry she could not dare to let out. Instead, she breathed in

"I need someone like you, in my life. I need someone who can show me that there's always a chance, that there is always hope. Please, don't make me live with the burden of your death because I would not…"

It was too much for her. She finally sobbed, and vented her pain.

Then something happened.

She felt pressure on her hand. She felt her hand being squeezed in response to her grip. She automatically raised her head and she saw Cade's eyelids lifting, revealing his eyes making contact with her own

Cade's left arm slowly reached for his mask, and he pulled it away from his face

"Yuffie…" he faintly spoke, reaching her chin with his hand "Don't tell me you are crying…"

She was in fact. And even more that before.

3.

"Damn it, Yuffie. Get a fucking grip on yourself!" Cid shouted, as he passed her a box of tissues, while the ninja silently wiped away what was left of the tears in her eyes. The rough-mannered technician seemed a bit at unease with Yuffie's display of relief.

"Ah, Cid" Cade shook his head, in a raspy, sleepy voice "I bet _Shera_ loves watching romantic movies with you at night, right? You're a real champion of empathy" he sarcastically commented, blushing upon seeing the ninja bursting into tears upon his awakening

"All right, all right" Cid surrendered "I was just trying to… well, never mind"

"Two awakenings, one next to the other one. Both unexpected!" Bannion said in amazement "Well, it's quite a great day for being a doctor!"

"Hey!" Cade protested "Did you gave up on me already, perhaps? I'd better have to draft a will while I can, then…"

"Of course not" Bannion promptly shook his head "But we were expecting you to awake in no less than a month, in the most optimistic of the outlook"

"A month?" Cade replied with surprise, clearing his throat as he forced his vocal chords to properly resonate again "No way. I feel like I've got a million things to do…"

Behind the napkin hanging from her nose, Yuffie finally smiled for the first time she was in that hospital

"I guess you have lots of talking to do" Bannion said "I'll leave for now"

"It's good to have you back, Cade" Evan told him, as the doctor closed the door behind him "Would you excuse me if I sound pressuring, but we really needed you to open your eyes as soon as you could"

"Hey, easy there Evan" Cade commented "I'm not really the Cade of my best days right now"

"Jeez, thank the Maker or the Gods that your uncle is locked up" Cid grinned "Otherwise he would have had a permanent seizure upon hearing what have you done"

Cade tilted his head "Locked up?" he asked "What do you mean?"

Yuffie sighed, annoyed by Cid's lack of tact. Evan blushed, as he rushed to come up with a brief and exhaustive explanation

"Cade, I've already explained pretty much everything to Yuffie, already" the WRO officer began explaining "But, in short, things have gotten out of hand in a pretty bad way"

"Thing have gotten out of hand in a pretty fucking way!" Cid corrected him

"Cid!" Yuffie holled "We're in a hospital!" she reprimanded him

"Ha, like I care!" Cid scoffed "We're in a hospital, not in a church!"

"Enough you two" Cade intervened "Or I'll slip back into a coma, never to wake up no more!"

'Don't even think about that!' Yuffie sternly thought. Although, at the same time, she was genuinely laughing at Cade's newly found-again verve 'Thank Heaven he's alive!' she thought again

"Hey, put aside your comedian self for once" Evan told him "We've got a situation here, and we should stay focused on!"

"Sounds like you already got a plan…" Cade said, before violent fits of cough rocked his body. A small, faint, red spot stained the sheets in front of him

"Seems like you need to rest!" Yuffie observed, not without apprehension

"I concur with the Yuffie" Evan intervened "As miraculous as it may seem, you've undergone extensive skin surgery and still needs to comply with the full post-surgery recovery. There might be complications that might arise later on…"

Cade had just realized how painful and laborious was for him to put just the muscles of the neck in motion. To be true, all his muscles were starting to ache, as every fibre was waking up from the forced slumber and, besides, the skin under his bandages was starting to feel itchy and hot, as it regained sensibility.

He knew that something big must have happened. Cid had maybe involuntarily dropped a bomb but it did not take Cade much to think that a very nasty scenario was waiting for him.

Yet he was aware that he needed some time. He did not even had time to catch breath since he had took off from Edge

"You are kinda right…" he muttered, in a somehow muffled voiced

"Huh?" Evan asked. Yuffie stood to attention upon these words

"I mean" Cade continued "I don't remember a thing about what happened but if I look at myself I can feel like it's been kind of rough…"

"You can't even imagine how much…" Cid grunted. Yuffie fought back the urge to stomp on his callous feet

"Look, we can reach a compromise" Evan offered "Let's keep you here overnight. Then I will tell the doctor that we will move you to a medical structure operated by our staff. We will spare him a lot of paperwork, so he'll gladly accept"

"What do you say, Cade?" Evan asked

Cade thought for a little "Sounds fine to me" he said waiving his arm "A night is enough"

"What?" Yuffie said, as she was the only one who did not completely agree with the deal "Cade, you've got more bandages than skin. How could you possibly be fine after just one night?"

A brief moment of silence was broken again by Yuffie 's words "I still don't like it" she said

"As I said" Cade replied "sounds fine with me. I'll take full responsibility for what will eventually happen. I've got a bad feeling about the whole affair…"

"I'm going to catch some air" Cid announced "Hospitals stink of antibiotics and stuff!"

As Cid left the room, Cade spoke again "Care to give me a summary of what's going on, Evan?"

Evan proceeded to explain the situation. Although not showing much of it, the resume shocked Cade just as much as it had shocked Yuffie moments ago

"Damn!" Cade exclaimed "This is twisted!"

"Reeve!" he exclaimed again, after a pause "How is he?"

"He is good, for now. Apparently Brad, or whoever is behind this plot, has no intentions whatsoever to even prick him" Evan replied "We are trying to locate his current position"

"How is the search going?" he asked

"I still have some informants in Edge. We are checking every WRO transport and vehicle log to see if something relevant appears"

"What is our next move?" Yuffie asked "Let's say we find out where he has been held, are we simply going to knock the door and ask for him to be released?"

"Who we can still count on?" Cade asked

"Pretty much no one" Evan shrugged "Except for the Special Intervention Service Force, the whole WRO is on high alert and cracking down on anyone who can be effectively painted as a subversive element"

"Why has the SISF not taken the side of the General Staff?" he asked

"You'll see by yourself" Evan assured him

"It seems like the General Staff is turning the WRO into a totalitarian world government" Yuffie mused

"I'll bet that in a few days, Brad will declare the state of emergency. It will be the beginning of a military dictatorship" Evan suggested "That's why the Territorial Divisions scattered throughout Gaia are on the verge of mutiny"

"This does not make sense" Yuffie exclaimed "Last time I checked, the world was about to be annihilated by some kind of outer-space phenomenon. What's the point in conjuring up such a plot?"

"Does the population know about the Singularity, by the way?" Cade asked

"No, not yet, as far as I know" Evan recalled "And bear in mind that the Mako streaks in the sky have disappeared yesterday. They haven't been spotted since"

Cade rested his eyes. After two days of blackout, they were fatigued by the intense light of the Gongagan sun coming through the window

"This is all so strange… Too much things do not connect" he whispered

"Maybe Reeve knows something we don't know" Yuffie suggested "We have to meet with him as soon as we can"

"But how?" Cade asked "Do we have the resources to organize a rescue operation?"

"Apparently yes" Yuffie answered, turning to Evan

"Coincidentally, the S.I.F.S. was performing a drill in Niebelheim and I was assigned there along with them to report on the outcome of the exercise"

"How many people are we talking about?"

"It's a 30-men strong company, support personnel included?"

The S.I.F.S. had superior training and better equipment than the rest of the WRO infantry. Although constituting a drop in the sea, maybe they were enough to carry out a quick action, if well planned or executed

"It's kind of lopsided to me" Yuffie pondered

"Hey, wanna give up already?" Cade poked her

"Me" Yuffie blushed, recalling the exact words she had uttered while hoping for him to wake up again "Absolutely not. It's the only thing we can do, so we better do it"

"All right then" Evan smiled "The _Shera_ will be our temporary HQ. We will meet there tomorrow when you will be released. If you do not have any other questions…

"Well, I have one, actually" Cade interrupted him

"Go on" Evan invited him

"How did you know it was not us?"

Evan thought for a moment, then he spoke "A series of coincidences. First of all, Cid could not believe that Yuffie could do something like that. He was positively sure about that. And if the initial reports from the General Staff told that Cade was acting along her, well then even Cade was innocent too. Always according to Cid, of course" Yuffie smiled upon these words "Then again, Cid showed me something very interesting upon arriving in Niebelheim to pick me and the squad up"

"And what was it?" Yuffie asked

"A piece of CCTV recording" Evan explained "He had tapped in quite incidentally into the video feed while working on some equipment"

"And?" Cade pressed him

"Apparently, Adrian Clawbourne, Chief of the General Staff…"

"Yes, go on!"

"…killed himself, rather than being killed by Reeve"

Yuffie and Cade opened their mouth in disbelief

"This is sick" Cade commented

"And apparently" Evan added "He brought someone else with him, for the sake of authenticity"

"Like father, like son" Cade commented, deadpan. That last detail only added more confusion to the general picture

"This is pretty damn serious" Yuffie said instead "We're dealing with people ready to sacrifice themselves to reach their goal"

"Whatever it may be" Cade added

"I concur" Evan agreed "I'd better go and see if the guys on the airship have dug out something interesting. What about you Yuffie?"

"Doctor Bannion told me he wants to run some tests on me to see if I'm good for sure"

"You certainly look like you're fine to me" Cade told her, causing her to smile again. Inside her, though, Yuffie was smiling ten times more at the thought of having Cade again by her side

"All right then!" Evan took a PHS from his pocket and left it on the desk next to the bed "Use this if the nurses are mistreating you" he joked

"Or if dinner sucks. Thanks Evan" Cade said "We own you one"

"Thank me when this will be all over…" Evan told him while walking outside the room.

As they were left alone in the confinement, Cade's look rested upon Yuffie

"You are not going with him?" he asked her

"Do you want me to leave?" she bitterly replied

"I did not mean that" Cade sighed "I meant…"

"I was only joking. I know what you meant" Yuffie grinned "As soon as Bannion won't call me for the exams I'll have to wait somewhere. So why not here?"

"Because this is my room. Why else?" Cade suggested

"You are really back" she said, before walking up to the chair next to the bed

Cade smiled back "How are you?" he asked her, as she sat

"Me?" Yuffie asked, surprised "I'm just fine. I should be the one asking you that!"

"Well" Cade replied "I've seen better days but I'm good, generally speaking. It could have been worse" he added, with a somber tone, as a shadow of grief darkened his face for a moment.

They both stood in silence for a while. Words left unspoken were lingering in the air

"Cade" Yuffie finally broke the silence

"Yes?"

"You saved my life" the ninja told him "I will never be able to properly thank you for that"

"I'm happy that you are alive" he said "It's just fine as it is, to me"

"I'm happy to see that you are fine as well. By the way, how is it that you look way better than before?" she observed

"What do you mean?" Cade asked, instantly reaching for a hand held mirror conveniently placed next to the PHS. He stared at his reflection on the glass. His skin had finally shed that greyish, sick hue away. He was far from regaining the appearance of his prime but as Yuffie was pointing out, he had made a remarkable recovery in such a small amount of time

"Is that what you mean?" he asked Yuffie, pointing at his face

"Sure" Yuffie confirmed, then her tone sobered "I… really thought you were gone the first time I saw you on that bed"

"We got away with that" Cade pondered "I think we simply had a lucky escape. Brad thought I would have collapsed upon seeing you on the ground"

"Instead you held your nerve" she congratulated him "Look, I'm really sorry for Kayla"

Cade bowed his head "I know" he simply whispered. Yuffie couldn't help but to reach and hug him. She sunk her face in her neck.

Cade nervously wrapped her shoulder in his arm. He found himself appreciating that kind of show of affection, even if he felt a tip of embarrassment

"I loved her too" Yuffie whispered meeting his eyes, raising her head "If there is anything I can do…"

Cade shook his head "Just fight… as you have done before. That is all that I can think of asking from you"

"I suppose you're right" Yuffie agreed

"Not that it will be easier from now on" he observed

"Well', we've got to give it a try, right?"

"Absolutely"

They stood in silence for a moment. Yuffie sat back on the chair, then spoke again

"Look Cade" she sighed "Reeve, he told me what happened to you"

"What happened to me when?" he enquired

"Your parents" Yuffie specified

"Ah, I see" Cade said "I knew that"

"How did you know? Did he told you?" Yuffie asked, quite perplexed

"No" he smiled "But when you came into this room for the first time, when you where alone with me, I could hear you"

Yuffie blushed, as she had just being exposed stealing cookies from a jar "Oh, I see" she said

"Why do you think I woke up?" he asked

"Don't know" she answered, her voice shaking "Maybe it was just time"

"Yuffie, I heard every single word you told me" Cade told her "And I'm happy that you think of me in those terms"

"Compared to the first time we met it's a big leap forward" she nervously laughed

"Sure it is" he laughed back. Then he stood in silence for a while, as Yuffie waited for his next line to be spoken

"And I'm also happy that there's someone like you beside me right now" he concluded

Yuffie blushed again. It was the first time in a while since someone had told her something like that 'See, dad?' she thought 'There's at least one person in the world that appreciates me!'

"I'm…glad to hear that" she simply replied, trying not to stutter. The world probably was on the verge of annihilation and they had to fight an army times and times bigger than theirs but at least they had each other. It was comforting for the both of them.


	12. Kalm

KALM

1.

A thunderous explosion shook the still air of the afternoon.

It was a quiet day in the town of Kalm, a charming and picturesque town which stood right outside the Midgar Wasteland. Inside the walled downtown, which separated the historical city centre from the newly-built sprawling suburbs, people were crowding the streets to take part in the weekly street market. The occurrence was so dear to the inhabitants of the town that most of them simply did not care about the unusual higher number of WRO soldiers who patrolled the streets with their rifles in their arms. It was a different sight, to which the townspeople of Kalm were not acquainted with but most of them had welcomed their presence and got along fairly well with them as reports of the turmoil in Edge got them quite worried about the state of peace and order in their urban reality.

Everyone was busy dealing with their own issues, as the sun in the sky had inaugurated another day like any other, with the much appreciated disappearance of the Mako streaks in the sky. A phenomenon to which most of the people was still oblivious to.

But when the blast went off everyone on their spot froze, and then turned towards the point were an orange globe was rising in the sky, immediately followed by a plum of thick, black smoke. Somebody had recognized the part of town affected by the deflagration

"It's the WRO garrison" a frightened man pointed out, as soldiers around him instructed the populace to stay calm and remain on their spot

"So, that's why they had deployed so many soldiers here…" a woman realized, as she crouched to shelter her child from an invisible menace

"Those terrorist have decided to strike here too!" a frightened man shouted

"Don't bullshit me!" a man bitterly replied, still minding after his merchandise on the stall "Maybe some rookie has dropped a batch of explosive…"

"Stand away from the road people!" a sergeant shouted as he waived to an oncoming fire appliance, leading a convoy of fire-fighting vehicles towards the site of the explosion. The bright red vehicles passed at high speed, with their sirens howling towards the blue afternoon sky. On the radio a plethora of voices were surmounting one another

"…can you confirm the number of code-red wounded? Over…"

"…and the fuel dump as well. We need urgent assistance from the fire brigades…"

"…the back-ups should be here anytime soon. We have already a company coming though from the broadcasting centre…"

Even more explosion could now be heard in the distance, always coming from the WRO garrison. This time they were less powerful, sounding like small cracks in the distance rather than loud bangs just like the first one.

The bustling streets of Kalm were now almost empty as people took refuge in the closest building they could reach. The latest developments and the news that had circulated, after the General Staff had announced the attempted coup, had made the people quite prone to panic but generally the populace, under the careful guidance of the WRO staff, behaved compositely.

"Thank the Maker that place stands alone in the midst of Vogel Park" a peasant commented "Such a blast could have shattered all the windows of Kalm if it was just a couple of inches nearer!"

Just seconds from the first explosion, the idle atmosphere of the town had been turned inside out by the waves of WRO troops cordoning off the most sensitive areas and junctions of the city, in order to facilitate the afflux of emergency and security personnel to the scene. The roar of an helicopter filled the air over Kalm as a WRO chopper circled around the column of smoke.

As everyone, citizens and soldiers, had shifted their attention to the damaged building and its surroundings, nobody paid attention to three young men running like hell through the alleyways towards the part of town opposite the explosion.

"It looks way too simple too me, Ryan" one of the running man commented, heavily panting. Apparently his daily gym attendance had not prepared him well for the run he and his comrades was doing

"Don't worry" the leader of the group of those three off-duty WRO soldiers, by the name of Ryan, reassured him "If I've made my calculations right, most of the sentries at the broadcasting facility have been sent to guard the road running along the southern wall"

"What if they are on full alert, instead?" the third man enquired "What if reinforcements have arrived and the security has not moved an inch from there?"

"What if… what if…" the leader teased him, his feet not losing a beat "Run, instead of talking, Shane! We're almost there!"

The alleyway opened up into a courtyard which was being used as a temporary scrap-yard. Along one of the sides, a metallic net ran along. They reached for it and the leader of the group probed it looking for a weak spot he had previously discovered and arranged

"There it is!" he exulted, as a portion of the net detached from the rest, revealing a short and narrow passage. They ducked and went through it. They temporarily froze as a helicopter made a low passage over the area, without noticing them, though,

They all crawled thorough the hole in the net. Shane momentarily swore as one of the eyelet of his trousers got tangled up in a stub, tearing it. Soon they found themselves running down a drainage canal, on a series of v-shaped concrete slabs laid one next to the other. The bottom was slightly slippery as a small river of brown, muddy water ran right in the middle of it

"Stay out of the water" Shane warned, hearing the clapping sounds of steps into the puddles "You're going to make them hear us!"

"Whops, got that" the third man, a young guy named Char, said as he hopped to the side of the ditch were his rubber soil treaded nothing but dry concrete.

They finally reached a point were the canal dived under a road inside a piping. On the road over them, a WRO soldier stood on guard, as a small convoy of trucks drove past him

"I told you" Ryan exclaimed triumphantly as he stood with his back against the shoulder of the bridge "They are moving them, as we expected. And judging by the number of the vehicles they should be pretty much all of them"

"Don't be so happy too soon" Char pointed out "There are at least twenty other guards in there. And all armed!"

"Like I did not know that" Ryan puffed "Have you brought them with you?" he asked the other one

"Of course" Shane opened the bag he had brought with him and pulled three WRO uniforms out from it. The batch of vests had been acquired by subtle means as WRO personnel was generally not authorized to wear uniforms outside the working hours

"Did nobody notice anything?"

"I don't think so" the man shook his head "I stole while they were on their way to the laundry!"

"I just hope they don't smell fishy, then!" Ryan commented, as he briefly sniffed the one he picked up. They quickly wore them over their everyday clothing.

Ryan climbed a small, rusty staircase next to the pipe entrance and he carefully peeked over the railing of the bridge. The soldier was now standing on the middle of the road, watching away from where Ryan was standing. The young man leapt over the balcony and rushed towards the guard.

With a swift movement he swung his arm around the neck of the WRO soldier dragging him away from the street, before the grey-clad man could even realize someone was charging at him. His shriek of surprise died in his throat. The man dressed as a WRO soldier, instead, fastened his hold until the guard slowly slipped on the ground unconscious

"Did you just killed him?" Shane, who had finally climbed onto the bridge as well, exclaimed

"Don't worry" Ryan assured him "He's just passed away. We are bound not to kill anyone, aren't we?"

"Only if not strictly necessary" Char sternly reminded him

The observation reminded Ryan of the only inconvenience of his hastily conceived plan. The chance of having to shoot at their own colleagues may arose anytime as nobody was aware of their intentions. Ryan, a soldier in the local WRO garrison of Kalm was already hoping that the diversion bomb planted at the main barracks had not caused any serious injury or any victim at all, although he perfectly knew it was wishful thinking.

Char and Shane were his comrades, two other soldiers of the local division who had been crazy enough (or maybe friends enough) to accept his invitation to what it appeared to be a suicide mission. Besides, Char's expertise in IT systems was vital for the execution of the plan.

As his two companions dumped the body of the soldier in the canal, Ryan waived at them "Come on" he urged them "The broadcasting station is just ahead!"

"The security shack is empty" Shane observed "Good for us!"

"Maybe Ryan is right" Char thought out loud "if we keep cool we may even live enough to exit that building simply by walking away"

Ryan gulped. He hoped his mate was right as the mission before himself appeared further from reach as the seconds flew by. He briefly thought upon the choice he had made just a year ago. He would not have joined the WRO if he had not felt compelled to walk in his older sister's footsteps. Being a soldier was not really something that ran into his blood.

The broadcasting station finally appeared. It was a concrete building which stood in an opening over a raised block surrounded by ditches and pipes and bundle of wires as thick as an arm. The main building looked like a shoebox with a protruding antenna raising up in the sky, with satellite dishes growing out form its main rod. All they had to do was to reach the broadcasting control room inside it and relay the message stored inside a hard drive kept inside Ryan's dangling pouch. The easy part was that the premises were scarcely patrolled. It was in fact an auxiliary station which served as a secondary relay radio bridge. Nevertheless the one who had entrusted him with delivering the content of the disk had assured him that, secondary or not, that antenna would have served the purpose pretty well, without the risk for the message to be identified and intercepted too soon.

The bad part was that the unexpected was behind every corner.

A soldier with the ranks of a sergeant spotted them as they walked the stairs to the main entrance

"Gentlemen" the sergeant greeted them "May I help you?"

The trio saluted as Ryan approached the sergeant "Sir, no sir. We've been left here by the detachment that has relieved the reinforcements for the situation in town"

"I see" the sergeant nodded, his hand reaching for the handle of the main door of the building as he reached the top of the stairs altogether with Ryan and his posse "May I see your authorizations?"

"Authorizations?" Ryan fumbled "Oh… yes Sir. Just let us in, and we will show you them"

The sergeant shrugged. He opened the door and passed the threshold holding it open to let Ryan and his associates inside.

Ryan quickly looked around. As he was sure that no cameras had a view over the place he and the sergeant occupied, he took his pistol by the muzzle and with a firm swing dealt a blow on the sergeant's head

"What the…?" the sergeant managed to shout, before the stock of the handgun impacted on his scalp with a crack. Ryan quickly dealt another blow as the body fell on the ground

"Hold it, for heaven's sake!" Shane rushed to cage his arm

"Jeez Ryan. Another blow and you kill him!"

"I know!" Ryan replied, heavily breathing

"Come on!" he said, regaining his composure "Help me move him where…"

"Are you alright, Ryan?" Shane enquired

"I'm fine!" Ryan cut him off "Just help me move him out of…"

He could not speak further on as he noticed, with the tail of his eye, a figure standing on the stairs leading to the first floor, witnessing the entire scene from the landing. They all turned, dropping the unconscious body of the sergeant on the floor.

The WRO soldier stood on the landing paralyzed, unable to pick his next move. Char acted faster and produced his pistol, firing half of his clip at him. The soldier crawled away, after being hit by a couple of bullets

"Fuck!" Ryan shouted, alarmed by the unexpected reaction of his comrade. And by the fact that he could distinctly see the bullets hitting the guard on the torso

"Here our cover gets blown away" Shane remarked

Char stood there still, his arm extended towards where the WRO soldier once stood "I'm… sorry…." He uttered

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Shane swore "What do we do now, Ryan?"

Ryan could not think of anything. They had been discovered sooner than expected. Char's impromptu reaction had only made things worse

"They are going to wait for us with their rifles cocked now!" Shane complained "And it's all thanks to you!" he scolded his comrade

"I've already told you I'm sorry, for fuck's sake!" Char replied, as the trio dragged themselves up

"Let's just burst in and hope that they duck under their desk" Ryan finally said

Shane looked at him in disbelief "What? Is that your plan?" he asked

"Tell me when you come up with something on your own, would you?"

"I did not kill him… Right?" Char nervously asked, almost begging

"Who cares?" Shane shook him "Better him than us. Right Ryan?"

Ryan did not reply. Getting out of that place alive was now something not to take for granted

'I hope you are right, sis' he thought addressing to the girl who had begged for him to pull this string 'Otherwise the only thing I will accomplish from this stunt will be me joining with you in the Lifestream sooner than expected!'

Once upstairs, they stumbled on the body of the soldier who had exposed them. Thankfully, he had collapsed in a pool of blood in the corridor, without managing to warn anyone. Unluckily, he might have been dead by now.

Ryan threw him a pitiful look as they past by, slowly starting to repent of his decision to start all this. But almost immediately, he was reminded on behalf of whom was he carrying out that mission and finally found the strength to carry on.

A door appeared in front of them. It was made of sand-papered glass and it occupied the entire height and width of the corridor, concealing their arrival to whomever might have stood on the other side

"No time for niceties" Ryan exclaimed as he drew his pistol "At three…" he instructed, as his comrades followed his moves pointing the handguns in front of them

"One… two… three!" as Ryan reached the bottom of the countdown, their guns erupted altogether, shuttering the glass in thousands of pieces

"No bulletproof glass" Shane commented, chuckling "Security is a no issue in this place"

"Don't be too cocky!" Ryan scolded him

At the end of the corridor stood a reception desk. Two men stood there, startled and quite terrified by the sudden appearance of the armed men and by the explosion of the dividing door

"Don't move a muscle!" Ryan shouted

"You'd better don't!" Char remarked

"Char!" Shane pointed out "Don't play 'High Noon' again, all right?"

Char puffed in contempt as he kept the two men under his sight

"Did someone of you had the bad idea of warning someone, or maybe activating the alarm?" Ryan growled at the two men, trying to look menacing and intimidating. He was feeling tense and scared as hell instead. He could feel the weight of his pistol augmenting as he wished his clip was actually empty, so as not to hurt anyone

"If we didn't, someone else is going to do that" the man behind the desk replied, as Shane reached for him, tying his hands together with some cable ties

"Seriously!" the man who had been forced to sit on the ground against the desk said "What are you going to pull off here, guys? Are you part of the coup as well? Did you plant the bomb at the garrison across town?"

"Shut up!" Ryan viciously ordered him, noticing that the two men appeared curious rather than frightened "Pull them up!" he ordered his companions

"What now, uh?" a man asked

"How many of you are still there?" Ryan asked as Char and Shane held the two WRO soldiers with their pistols thrust against their backs

"Us, two guards down there and the staff managing the antenna" he replied "If I were you, I would quit it right now. The rest of the security detachment will be here back soon if we fail to report"

Ryan decided it would have been the best to mark very clearly who was in charge in that situation. He lifted his arm and opened a wound on the WRO soldier's forehead

"We are going to the end with what we are about to do!" he warned him, as Shane held the man on his feet as he bent forward, moaning after receiving the blow "And you better go along with us if you wanna tell this story to your friends at the next round of beer at the bar in town!"

The group remained silent until they reached a two winged door. A small plaque told them that behind that door stood the communication centre

"Where are the handles?" Char asked

"It's locked" one of the two hostages explained "There is a code we have to enter!" he said, pointing at a small keypad next to the door

"Would you?" Shane, politely under the circumstances, asked

The man Shane was holding hostage was translated in front of the keypad. He dialled a four-digit sequence, sideways and with great discomfort as his hands were still tied on his back.

The wings slid open.

As he set foot inside the dark room, illuminated by faint neon lights and the light of the screen of the computers in front of which operators where monitoring the status of the equipment, Ryan shoot a volley on the ceiling.

The bullet ricocheted against the beams as a collective howl erupted from the desks

"Everybody against the wall over there!" Ryan ordered, waving his pistol "You two, with the rest of them!" he told the two hostages

"Shane!" he continued "Take care of security. Char, come on. Let's rely the message!"

As Shane lined all the staff against the wall and made them crouch, Ryan and Char took seats in front of a computer

"Give that to me!" Char told Ryan, as the latter pulled out an object from his bag. It was a small rectangular block, into which Char plugged a cable connecting it to the CPU

"Ok, he recognized the hard disk" Char explained his mate "Let's wait for the download"

"How long will it take?" Ryan nervously asked

"A couple of minutes…" Char answered

A couple of minutes. Ryan wondered if they could afford to wait two whole minutes

"Here it is" Char triumphantly exclaimed, as a chime came from the computer "Download completed!"

"Good! Now broadcast it!" Ryan pressed him

"Do you have the NP address?"

"There you go" Ryan tapped on the hard disk case, where a string of numbers had been written in white

"I said _nobody move_!" Shane shouted in the background, startling Char and Ryan as well

"All right back there?" Ryan turned to him

"Don't worry about me" Shane nervously replied "I'm fine"

"Good!" Ryan switched back to the screen of the computer, where a progression bar was slowly advancing towards the completion of the broadcasting "How about here?" he asked

"We've broadcasted just half of it…"

"How can we be sure it has been successfully delivered?"

"We can't!" Char replied "Sending a feed through a network port is nowhere like sending an e-mail!"

Ryan began sweating. There was the faintest chance that all their efforts might have turned out futile. Again, as he always did, he shook that feeling away from his head. They were so close it would have been nonsensical to have second thoughts right now

"And…" Char announced "…here it goes! Broadcasting complete!"

Ryan sighed in relief. They had finally done what they could. Now it was left to chance and they could only hope that the message actually reached its destination

"We're clear guys!" Ryan triumphantly exclaimed "Let's get out of here"

His satisfaction was short lived thought. A giant quake shook the building, from the basement to the upper floor. Debris and smoke started pouring from the ceiling as the lights flickered. Everyone was thrown on the ground as furniture and hardware fell from the desk, sprawling on the cold floor. The computer screen went momentarily black, before reappearing with several warning windows popped up

"Jeez! What happened?" Char asked

Ryan looked around him. He rushed outside to see if he could sneak a peek from the windows but, apparently, whoever caused that commotion was to be found on the front of the building. The windows of the corridor were place towards the side of the building facing directly towards the city wall

"Char!" he shouted as he ran back in the broadcasting room "See if you can find a security feed!"

"What about them?" Shane asked, pointing at the hostages

"Let them go"

"Are you sure?"

"Positively"

"Have you heard him?" Shane aggressively shouted "Get up and run outside, if you are fond of your lives!" he added, as he let a couple of shots in the air as to press the staff to abandon the premises

"Are there any weapon around we can use?" Ryan asked

"Do you plan to make a last stand?" Shane replied, visibly alarmed

"Of course not" he replied "But I could use something more effective than a pistol!"

"I'll go see what I can find!" Shane offered himself, as he walked away

"Bad news…" Char shook his head

"Can you be more specific?" Ryan enquired, as he looked at the screen in front of him

"They are going to surround the building!" Char commented, as the security feed revealed a motorcade of trucks bursting through the entrance of the opening where the building stood. Among them, and armoured combat vehicle was adjusting the elevation of its turret

"My God! Are they going to level the building?" Char asked, awed by the sight

"Probably they had just torn down the antenna with that thing!" Ryan commented, upon seeing a trail of smoke coming from the cannon of the armoured vehicle.

Another scene unveiled in front of them: the stream of former occupants of the building was running towards the WRO forces about to lay siege to the building. Surprisingly, the soldiers proceeded to apprehend the fleeing staff and put them on the ground, even resorting to violent manners. It looked like they were arresting a mob of urchins rather than providing rescue to their own colleagues

"They probably think we had an inside man and they want to leave nothing to chance" Char suggested

Ryan shook his head in amazement "I'm flattened but we aren't that cunning"

Steps echoed in the room as Shane had returned, holding three assault rifles in his arms "I found a nice stash of weapon in a room". He unveiled a set of grenades "Got a hold on a couple of these, too!" he added, hurling one of them at Ryan

"Might surely come in handy" Ryan pondered as he examined the high-yield explosive device in his hand. His musings where interrupted as another tremor ran through the basement of the building, and up through the main axis of the antenna. Thick black smoke began seeping from the shaft next to the room

"Damn it! They must have hit the fuel tanks!" Ryan grunted

"Fuel tanks? This is no power station!" Shane shook his head "Where the hell they keep those tanks?"

"Ever heard about backup generators?" Char poked fun at him

"Whatever" Shane shrugged "Please, Ryan. Don't tell me we planned to climb down the shaft to get out of here?" he asked then, pointing at the smoke-belching vent

"Of course" Ryan nodded, before walking to a red closet hung on the wall. The closet door opened after he dealt it a powerful fist with his bare hand. As the lid swung, a set of breathers appeared "But I think we should wear these first" he said, as he gave the devices away.

Another explosion could be heard, this time closer. The building and the walls were shaken one more time

"Damn it" Shane swore "This was inside!"

The WRO forces had probably entered the building

"Why did they have to let a bomb off? Haven't they seen that the door was open?" Char questioned

"Who knows?" Ryan asked, as he removed the vent, speaking through the breather "Maybe they want to scare us…"

Ryan then climbed through the hole in the wall were smoke was heavily pouring out, immediately followed by the other two.

The only other thing that accompanied them was the urge to know whether the message had reached its destination.


	13. Back on the Shera

2.

Cade was lazily treading the bridge of the _Shera,_ looking with anticipation at the special forces crews sitting at their stations, dancing with their fingers on the keyboards and combing the network trying to find elements useful for the planning of the rescue of his uncle Reeve. But apparently, up to now, the search had given no results yet.

Since they had took off from Gongaga, the urgency of his mission had became more and more evident to him. His initial optimism was sometime hindered by the thought that Reeve could have been seriously injured or, far worse, killed by now.

He had tried to keep this front of unyielding enthusiasm and stoicism he had built throughout the entirety of the course of the events from crumbling. He had been keeping a positive and uplift stance from the briefing held in the Mythril Desert when it was first revealed that Gaia was about to suffer a lethal blow from an otherworldly menace, and he had kept his smile even when on the bed of the hospital in Gongaga he had realized how close to death he had been, for the sake of the heartbroken ninja princess who stood next to him. All for the sake of the ones next to him.

But the toll of trying to save the world (literally) almost on his own was beginning to erode his psyche. The loss of Kayla had been the last straw, and although he did not shown it to anybody deep in his heart he had still to come to term with the recurring scene of that blonde, angelic human being dying in his arms that flashed before his eyes every now and then. If he had not managed to save Yuffie's life as well, he would have let himself die in the glacier, slowly but inevitably.

Moreover, the effects of Mako poisoning, were beginning to cause bouts of fever in the most inappropriate moments. He was beginning to feel wrecked, both inside and outside him

'How can I?' he wondered to himself, standing in the middle of the bridge, surrounded by personnel shuffling from one side of the deck to the other 'How can I even think I can do something like this if I can't look after myself?'

 _You are not alone_ , a voice echoed in his mind. The same voice that haunted his dreams and that happened to spoke to him while he closed his eyes for a nap or just to let the sea of thoughts in his mind to come to a calm. A voice which still raised a lot of question in his mind but with which he did not feel upset at all, oddly.

'I know' he said in his mind, as a reply 'And I will drag everyone with me when it will be the time to fall…'

 _Oh, gosh_ the voice complained _When did you become such a pessimist? My grandfather used to be more cheerful than that, even when he was drunk…_

'Since when my uncle had been locked somewhere we still have to find out, I nearly passed away in a glacier and after being branded as a treacherous subversive by the same organization I work for?'

 _Whoa! That's quite an achievement I did not expect from you_ the voice giggled _You outperform me, when it comes to fighting the power. You should have joined AVALACHE yourself…_

 _But remember, there's people who gave their life for the sake of something greater than themselves!_

'And I am supposed to follow suit?'

 _That's up to you. Sacrificing themselves can be heroic or futile. It depends on how you compare the two arms of the scale_

'For instance?'

 _You nearly died to save her. Tell me how much you were happy to see her alive on a scale from one to ten_

'One hundred' he mentally replied, at once

 _You should start form there,_ the voice concluded disappearing in the vortex of his thoughts.

Cade immediately thought it would have been a good idea not to miss his daily appointment with the prescribed painkillers, as he swallowed a pill he kept in an aluminium blister inside his pocket. He wondered if those voices and incoherent dialogues he had with them were side effects of the Mako poisoning as well. As far as he was concerned, they were

"Sir, are you with us?" a voice dragged him away from the land of dreams and distant voices.

He had been introduced earlier to Captain Alistair Ruding, the intelligence specialist of the SISF., a guy in his late twenties with short, reddish hair and glasses. Far from being the stereotypical geekish guy in the classroom, Ruding ran his intelligence crew in a very swift and efficient manner, keeping a lively spirit as he asked for updates and reports every now and then

"Oh, sorry!" Cade told him, awakening from his momentarily lapse of consciousness "I was just busy… you know, guesstimating the chances we had to find a valid piece of information"

"Sir, if there's the tiniest bit of information in the web that could serve us, no matter where it is hiding, I'll… we'll find it!" he had assured Cade

"How can you be so sure?" Cade asked him

"I know my trade pretty well" Ruding shrugged with nonchalance

"There are plenty of people who knows their own trade pretty well around the world, Captain" Cade pointed out "What makes you stand amongst all of them?"

Ruding grinned, letting out a small chuckle as he adjusted his glasses on the nose "Browsing the network is like wandering through the alleys and streets of a town. You either get a map, you hire a guide or, better off, you get the one who build the town itself…"

Cade stared at him, eyes wide with surprise "You are actually telling me that…"

Ruding smiled "After the Deepground Conflict, the network had to be cleaned up by whatever viruses and malwares had ridden it. At some point we realized that it would have been less costly and time consuming just closing it down and re-build it from scratch. And guess who lead the team?"

Cade felt like he could use some provoking "Not you…?"

Ruding raised a finger. He stood there speechless for a while, before sighing "Touché" he said, shaking his head "My bluff did not work well, didn't it?"

Cade laughed "Don't take it personal Captain, but I sincerely doubt someone as young as yours could have been the architect behind the brand new version of the network"

"Well, I was not the architect" Ruding told him, grabbing a chair and sitting in front of a computer "But I closely worked with Shelke. I may not have been the architect, but surely I was the architect's best student…"

"I did not mean to offend you, Captain…" Cade excused himself "I know you are doing a great job"

"Don't worry, Sir" Ruding replied "I like to work with a boss that has some sense of humour every now and then"

Cade quickly tilted his head with a lopsided grin on his face, unable to read past Ruding's line. He glanced at the computer where the IT specialist had began scrolling a list of directories "Have you found anything interesting, yet?" Cade asked him

"I'm afraid not, not yet" Ruding shook his head "Unfortunately, many sections of the WRO intranet are closed down. Maybe is a safety measure the General Staff has taken to ensure no hackings would occur"

"Like the one we are attempting at right now?" Cade asked

"Precisely" Ruding chuckled "Unfortunately for them, and luckily for us, there's more than one way to skin a cat"

"What do you mean?"

"They locked the doors, but they don't know we have the keys. A whole bundle of that" Ruding winked

"You sure are fond of metaphors, aren't you?" Cade smiled

"I'm a communicator by nature" Ruding joked "But, not to clip your enthusiasm, this is not like picking up a key once you get back home from work. This is more fumbling through the keys when you are back home from a tour of the dirtiest pubs in Corel. With the lights out, as a final touch…" he added

"I see" Cade nodded "You are telling me that this is a matter of 'when', rather than 'if'"

Ruding nodded as well in response "Just that. I'm sure the 'when' will soon turn into a 'now' in a matter of seconds"

"Hope I'm not interrupting anything fun" a voice came from behind them. It was Evan

"Hi there Evan" Cade waived "No, nothing fun at all. Not even the slightest hyperlink to a porn site. Damn it feels so lonely out here…" he jokingly moaned

"Will you ever change, Cade?" Evan marvelled with a scold on his face "I guess Specialist Ruding is reporting with you with the latest development of their search"

"Yes, Sir" Ruding stood to attention

"Absolutely, Evan" Cade lazily nodded, standing sat on his chair instead "They are a bunch of brilliant brains, I reckon that. You picked them up wisely"

"I did, in fact" Evan proudly boasted "Listen, do you mind if we exchange some words in private?" he whispered to him, then

Cade's eyes widened in surprise "Oh, well of course" he agreed. He turned to Ruding for one last time, patting his shoulder "Thanks a lot Specialist Ruding. Keep up the good job"

"I… I mean we'll do, Sir!" Ruding replied

"And one last thing, if I can ask it of you" Cade added

Ruding nodded, waiting for the request

"Please, call me Cade" he begged "Everyone calls me like that by now"

"I'll do then, Sir… I mean, Cade" he corrected himself

Cade smiled, satisfied at Ruding's compliance with that last request, as Evan lead him to a more secluded division of the main deck

"Hardworking, focused and competent" Cade pondered, as he made his way to an alcove behind the deck, with Evan alongside him "Quite the opposite of me!" he joked

"You are pretty hardworking yourself" Evan pointed out

"If you say so" Cade shrugged, as they reached a convenient spot "So, what did you want me to talk about?" he asked

"How are you doing? I mean, apart from the wounds and all the rest…" Evan asked

"Me? How am I doing?" Cade replied, caught by surprise by that seemingly innocent question "Fine, I suppose. Just as fine as I can be doing given the circumstances…"

Evan nodded, thoughtfully. Cade grew a bit alarmed by his mate's reaction "What?" he pressed Evan "Is there something bothering you?"

"Well" Evan began "Since the day you came in contact with that chunk of Mako in the desert, and since I've been reading the medical records, the _only_ " he sternly remarked that word "medical record ever produced, I've been keeping wondering if you haven't been suffering from excessive Mako exposure, since then"

"So, that was your question?" Cade enquired. As far as he was concerned, up to that moment he owed the Mako exposure his own life. If it had not been for that, he would not have stood a single chance against the countless strains his body had been put through during the events that took place from the mission in the Mythril Desert onward

"I know what are you thinking" Evan guessed "I bet that you suppose that having been exposed to Mako has accelerated the healing rate of your cells. And that would explain how come you are standing on your own after a two-day coma, when even the head of the reanimation and intensive care ward had told us we would have to wait at least a month"

"Is there something wrong with that?" Cade replied "Thanks to that, our schedule is virtually unaffected, I made you save quite a lot of time" he laughed

"Cade, I insist you have your condition checked by the time this will be all over" Evan replied, without even taking Cade's pun into account

"Provided I came out of this alive"

"You will" Evan told him "And you will have you visited by a specialist, will you?"

"Evan, is there something you are trying to tell me?" Cade questioned him, not without concern

Evan sighed "Cade, body and mind are two different things, but are part of the same thing" he explained carefully "One cannot exist, or at least function properly without the other. Maybe your body has gained a small advantage by having all that Mako seeping through your bones, but I doubt the same can be said about the mind"

"Are you afraid I'll go insane and start a rampage, is that so?" Cad smiled. Evan did not. In fact, he did not move a muscle on his face.

The rope that kept the curtain pulled on the stage of Cade's almost comical play snapped. For the first time Cade was pushed to admit that things were quite not working well inside him. He bowed his head, as he rubbed both eyes with the thumb and index of the right hand

"I saw you before" Evan told him "Right there on the deck. You blacked out for almost a minute. Why don't you tell me what's happening to you?"

Cade squinted his eyes behind his fingers, which were almost pinching the nose

"You have visions and stuff, haven't you?" Evan kept asking, as he tried to keep eye contact with Cade, who finally let loose the hold on his eyes and raised his head

"I think, I have" he answered "I'm sorry Evan, but I can't control what happens in my mind. God, I feel so tired…" he complained, almost breaking down in tears.

Evan reached for him, giving Cade a sympathetic hug

"Cade, you are worrying about a lot of thing all at the same time: your uncle, the world, each and every one of us. And then you rescued Yuffie in a way no one else would have thought, you went into a coma for two days… and then you had Kayla dying in your arms. Do you really think you can carry on forever?" he asked

"I don't think so…" Cade replied, as he gained again distance back from his friend

"Then why do you keep acting like it's yourself against the whole world? You're not alone, you know?"

"I know" Cade nodded, as he regained composure. Strangely enough, that last line sounded very much like what the voice inside his head had told him just before "I guess I'm the last action hero in town" he grinned

Evan laughed "You are the last dickhead in town" he joked, patting him on the back "What good is a hero for if he can't see the results of his action?"

"That's a good question…" Cade pondered

"Look" Evan suggested him "Go get some coffee in the canteen. And by the way, put some sleep on the tab too"

"But I'm not tired at all…" Cade complained

"Gentleman!" a voice erupted from the main deck, immediately followed by the thumping sound of Ruding's steps rushing toward the station of the operator who had just announced his discovery "I think we have something interesting in our hands!"

"See?" Cade smiled, returning one of the countless pats Evan had given him during the day "Nap time can wait!"

A huddle of people formed around a computer

"Did you find him?" Cade frantically asked

"No, it's not about Director Tuesti" the operator at the station shook his head "But something quite as important I think"

"What makes you think it's important if it isn't about Reeve?" Cade bitterly objected

"Cade, cut him some slack!" Evan intervened. He then addressed the operator "Tell us what did you find, please"

"Somebody just sent us a data stream, right at the network point address of this ship" the operator explained

"Whops! Sorry for being late!" Ruding announced himself, as he had momentarily left the desk where everybody was at "Did someone say 'data stream'?"

"Yes, Sir" the operator nodded "It's a hefty pack of data, moreover"

"Can you tell who did send it to us?" Evan enquired

"I'm afraid not" the operator shook his head "There's a physical address of the terminal used to uplink these data but no network credentials"

"I bet fifty Gil it was sent by a maintenance terminal…" Ruding guessed, excited

"Hey, what's up with all that ruckus?" a chirping voice came form behind. It was Yuffie.

Cade instinctively tuned to the ninja, and almost dropped his jaw in surprise: the princess of Wutai had donned herself in the same attire worn by the other S.F.I.S. members. A black, tight t-shirt which had the (rather pleasant, for the record) side effect of exalting her slender figure, grey-camouflaged baggy trousers, all wrapped with holsters, pouches, knee paddles and finally combat boots, matching the shade of black from the upper body garments. She had added her personal touch by tying her trademark ultramarine-blue hair-band, with the White Rose motif pressed on it

"What were you up to?" Cade asked her, trying to conceal his sense of admiration for a girl who could look sharp and pretty no matter what she put on herself "Playing hide and seek with all the special forces stuff along with it?"

"Oh, you!" Yuffie sighed, without helping herself but to smile upon noticing Cade's cheek turning a more saturated shade of pink. It was cool to have a man's eyes upon herself, amongst all that rat race to save the world

'Wow, Yuffie! Where did that came from?' a voice bawled in her mind. Even Yuffie herself was briefly startled by that nasty thought. She immediately proceeded towards the group of people assembled behind the operator and the computer

"Someone cares to tell me why are you all excited about?" she asked again, laying over Cade's back

"Do you even have to ask?" Cade mischievously replied

"Holy fuck!" Evan rolled his eyes upwards. Ruding laughed out loud.

"Somebody has tried to communicate with us" he explained, pointing at the cascade of letters and digits that were appearing on the screen before them.

Yuffie tried to take a closer look at the screen "Is that pack of non-sense meant to mean something, actually?" she enquired

"Of course" Ruding nodded, slamming his hand on the operator's back "Warrant Officer Chipperfield will locate the source of the stream, and will gladly translate it for us"

"Of course, Sir" Chipperfield nodded, recovering from the impact of Ruding's hand on his back "The algorithm is converting the hexadecimal strings into intelligible data. Meanwhile…" he said, while launching another application "… we should have the result of the search of the terminal where it has been sent from"

Everyone stared at the screen in anticipation. A ping from the machine announced them the computer was ready to read out the result

"Kalm?" Evan read out the four letters out loud

"A maintenance terminal from a secondary radio antenna" Ruding marvelled as well "And by somebody unable to tell a computer from a blender!" he laughed

"Why?" Evan asked

"Half of the data has been corrupted by a security protocol" Chipperfield explained "Nobody can use maintenance terminals for their own convenience or personal purposes. When it happens, a bot in the network corrupts the data sent by the user, so the party is over!"

"But we can still retrieve them, right?" Yuffie questioned him

"Of course" Chipperfield replied "It will take…"

"Time" Evan anticipated him "I know. It all comes down to that"

"But why would someone had to send something to us using a maintenance terminal? I mean, if they knew the data would have been corrupted…" Yuffie wondered

"Maybe they did not know…" Evan guessed

"Or maybe they did it on purpose" Ruding knocked on the screen "Maintenance terminals are not that heavily monitored like any other computers with access to the WRO intranet. The corruption bot is the only line of defence"

"Not the best insurance against crackers" Cade noted

"I made a reclaim about that two months ago" Ruding pointed out "It still lies in some closet in an office in Edge" he grumped

Cade stared at the screen of the computer, where digits and letters where appearing at a steadfast rhythm

"How long will it take to decipher that stuff?" he finally asked

"From five to ten minutes" Chipeprfield announced, before his attention was caught by a flashing pop-up on the desktop "And what the hell is this thing?" he asked, before clicking on it

A window opened. The logo of the newsfeed service appeared shortly before images of the Kalm skyline appeared, marred by two solid smoke plumes emerging from opposite sides of the town. The voice of a newscaster could be heard over

"…authorities in Kalm have put the town in lockdown, after a bomb exploded in the vehicle depot of the local WRO garrison in the Vogel Park district. There are no victims confirmed yet. Shortly after, a WRO spokesperson had announced that the perpetrators have been tracked down near an antenna building at the other side of town in the Luton Projects Quarters. The ensuing fire-fight had caused extensive damage to the building. Suspects are still at large and are to be considered armed and dangerous…"

Their attention, though, had to shift again. An alarm rang in the main deck. Three tones played one next to the other, grouped and separated by a pause

"Ah, damn it Cid!" Cade shouted, visibly annoyed by the chime "Put it out! Or I'll do it my way!" he threatened, trying to be heard and sound menacing. Cid's reply swiftly came from the loudspeakers

"Why is that you do not crap in your pants like all the other times you've heard an alarm?" the mechanic asked

"Because this is an urgent cable from the WRO Headquarters!" Evan instantly replied

"Oh, fuck!" Yuffie swore

"Don' t worry!" Evan raised his hand "Let's see what they have in mind for us…"

He got near the console under the main screen of the deck. He tapped a couple of keys and a message appeared on the giant display

"Ha!" Cade laughed "This is better than an invitation to a wedding party!"

"Head to Kalm immediately" Evan read out loud "Contact local authorities and proceed to the designated targets. SISF. intervention required"

"If the SISF. is requested, we are tagging along. I'd say we have something to work on, for now!" Yuffie exclaimed, brimming with excitement.

Cade watched at the screen with the same degree of enthusiasm. All his thoughts, nightmares and bad vibes had been swept away by the rush that kicked in as soon as the orders had appeared on the screen.

Evan had rushed downstairs to summon Lieutenant Farron. Cade turned towards Yuffie

"Ok" he said, clenching his fists "Let's if I look as sharp as you in that dress!"


	14. Kalm (underground)

3.

"You got lost!"

"I did not get lost!" Ryan protested "I was just trying to get us to sneak around the pumping station. They probably had set an ambush there!"

"If the WRO is not going to kill us" Shane commented, after letting out a powerful sneeze "Sure the cold or these king-sized rats will!"

After their escape from the broadcasting building, the trio had made their way inside the town's sewage system, a thick network of tunnels that ran under Kalm and that, according to the original plan, should have granted them a safe passage to the outside of town.

Ryan had managed to snatch a diagram of the medley of conduits after a quick raid at the city planning office. Down there the air was becoming heavier and heavier as they descended, the walls rife with moss and moisture as they walked through passages left unkempt by years of neglect.

The echo of their steps was the only constant noise, sometimes accompanied by the ticks of the drops of water falling from leaking pipes or the squeaking sound of critters emerging from their nooks to behold these unexpected visitors

"I've got the impression that we've already been here…" Char commented

"That cannot be!" Shane shook his head "Did you see the mark on the wall?"

Ryan had thought that marking the cornerstones of the passages already visited would have helped them. Apparently unbeknownst to the rest of the party, though, the surfaces of the walls were not dry enough to leave a lasting mark on the bricks. Ryan hoped that his mates were oblivious to this detail, as he frantically tried to plot a course on the diagram he was holding before himself

"Then if you haven't" Shane continued "that means that we are somewhere new. Right Ryan?"

"You got that" Ryan distractedly replied, as he scoped the space in front of him with the beam of his torchlight

"Do you think we are going to make it?" Char asked, with a hint of worry

"Of course" Shane frowned upon Char's doubtfulness "We merely stumbled upon that patrol. I bet they were just a bomb disposal team combing that sector…"

Some metres back and minutes before, the party had a brief encounter with a WRO squad who happened to stand on their way. Although armed enough to try to throw the gauntlet and try to force their way through, the group had opted to take a diversion to avoid being spotted at all. That diversion had the undesired effect of making them straying even further from the original path. The ensuing fire-fight was made even more dramatic by the hammering barks of the rifles as they thundered in the secluded spaces of the conduits, echoing all the way to the surface.

As Shane tried to reassure Char, Ryan pointed his flashlight upward. The vault of the conduit abruptly finished there. He took point, distancing themselves from his companions, trying to scout the road ahead. The space before him opened further and further

"Anyway, I'm going to be deaf if I even cock my rifle, let alone…" Shane interrupted himself as he and Char finally closed the gap with Ryan. They all stared upward.

They had come to a wide room, metres and metres high and wide. The centre was occupied by a giant column that ran from the bed up to the invisible ceiling and sat on a block at the centre of the floor, all surrounded by staircases and catwalks

"Where are we now?" Char asked

Ryan took a quick look at the map "This is one of the main shafts of the aqueduct" he said "were all secondary pipes and conduit stem from"

"That means that we can go probably anywhere from here…" Shane guessed

"I think you are right" Ryan agreed "Just let me find the shortest path to…"

They were forced to point their heads upwards again. A sinister noise came from the upper floors of the room.

Boots were treading the catwalk and combat gear was clicking as WRO soldiers were slowly but inevitably descending all around the column, swarming through the staircases. The environment was far from pitch black but it was dim, nonetheless. The shadows were pierced by the laser sights of the rifles of the soldiers. As they began to came closer, their thunderous yet quite voices, made of orders and warnings became audible and discernible

"Fuck!" Char bit his tongue "They have intercepted us!"

The group quickly ran in an indentation in the wall

"C'mon Ryan!" Shane pressed him "We have to get away from here! Fast!"

"They are going to cut us off from the surface!" Char warned them "I bet some of the are on our tail as well!"

"Shut up" Ryan waived them "I'm trying to think!" he said, as he returned to the map. Apparently, there was a passage that could lead to a collector conduit that finally opened up in the outskirts, where WRO presence was minimal. The only catch was that the passage was across the room, and the WRO soldiers were coming down fast

"All right then!" he exclaimed, keeping his voice low "The tunnel over there!" he pointed

"Are you sure is that one?" Shane cautiously asked

"Are you sure this is the time to ask such questions?" Char countered

"Whatever…" Shane gave up

"Be quiet!" Ryan cut them short "Now, if you move fast and light, those bastards up there might not even notice us. At three, all right?"

"I'm ready" Shane nodded

"I'm ready too" Char nodded back

"Ok, then. One… two… three!"

They all made a dash through the room towards the designated opening on the wall. The blue flashlights of the rifles were casting globes of eerie blue light on the floor.

As they reached the half-point, Ryan felt something with his foot, something that interrupted his sprint and nearly made him stumble. The metallic and echoing sound that stuff made immediately chimed throughout the entire chamber.

Apparently, he had just happened to kick a spent lantern on the floor, left there by some absent-minded city worker.

He swore. Just as the same time as multiple rays of light centred on his party

"Contact!" a soldier from a catwalk shouted

A hundred rifles, or seemingly so, clicked altogether

"Don't move!" someone cried "You are under arrest!"

"On your knees!"

"Do it! Do it now!"

Orders where repeated mercilessly. At some point, the soldiers expected Ryan and his company to comply.

Instead, he exchanged a look with his mates and again, he ran for cover.

The rifles shouted, spraying the floor with bullets, chipping clay and sand from the walls.

As Char had somehow managed to produce his pistol and shoots round in the soldiers' general direction, Ryan led the group into the tunnel. The wrong one.


	15. Shera (III)

KALM (underground)

1.

"You got lost!"

"I did not get lost!" Ryan protested "I was just trying to get us to sneak around the pumping station. They probably had set an ambush there!"

"If the WRO is not going to kill us" Shane commented, after letting out a powerful sneeze "Sure the cold or these king-sized rats will!"

After their escape from the broadcasting building, the trio had made their way inside the town's sewage system, a thick network of tunnels that ran under Kalm and that, according to the original plan, should have granted them a safe passage to the outside of town.

Ryan had managed to snatch a diagram of the medley of conduits after a quick raid at the city planning office. Down there the air was becoming heavier and heavier as they descended, the walls rife with moss and moisture as they walked through passages left unkempt by years of neglect.

The echo of their steps was the only constant noise, sometimes accompanied by the ticks of the drops of water falling from leaking pipes or the squeaking sound of critters emerging from their nooks to behold these unexpected visitors

"I've got the impression that we've already been here…" Char commented

"That cannot be!" Shane shook his head "Did you see the mark on the wall?"

Ryan had thought that marking the cornerstones of the passages already visited would have helped them. Apparently unbeknownst to the rest of the party, though, the surfaces of the walls were not dry enough to leave a lasting mark on the bricks. Ryan hoped that his mates were oblivious to this detail, as he frantically tried to plot a course on the diagram he was holding before himself

"Then if you haven't" Shane continued "that means that we are somewhere new. Right Ryan?"

"You got that" Ryan distractedly replied, as he scoped the space in front of him with the beam of his torchlight

"Do you think we are going to make it?" Char asked, with a hint of worry

"Of course" Shane frowned upon Char's doubtfulness "We merely stumbled upon that patrol. I bet they were just a bomb disposal team combing that sector…"

Some metres back and minutes before, the party had a brief encounter with a WRO squad who happened to stand on their way. Although armed enough to try to throw the gauntlet and try to force their way through, the group had opted to take a diversion to avoid being spotted at all. That diversion had the undesired effect of making them straying even further from the original path. The ensuing fire-fight was made even more dramatic by the hammering barks of the rifles as they thundered in the secluded spaces of the conduits, echoing all the way to the surface.

As Shane tried to reassure Char, Ryan pointed his flashlight upward. The vault of the conduit abruptly finished there. He took point, distancing themselves from his companions, trying to scout the road ahead. The space before him opened further and further

"Anyway, I'm going to be deaf if I even cock my rifle, let alone…" Shane interrupted himself as he and Char finally closed the gap with Ryan. They all stared upward.

They had come to a wide room, metres and metres high and wide. The centre was occupied by a giant column that ran from the bed up to the invisible ceiling and sat on a block at the centre of the floor, all surrounded by staircases and catwalks

"Where are we now?" Char asked

Ryan took a quick look at the map "This is one of the main shafts of the aqueduct" he said "were all secondary pipes and conduit stem from"

"That means that we can go probably anywhere from here…" Shane guessed

"I think you are right" Ryan agreed "Just let me find the shortest path to…"

They were forced to point their heads upwards again. A sinister noise came from the upper floors of the room.

Boots were treading the catwalk and combat gear was clicking as WRO soldiers were slowly but inevitably descending all around the column, swarming through the staircases. The environment was far from pitch black but it was dim, nonetheless. The shadows were pierced by the laser sights of the rifles of the soldiers. As they began to came closer, their thunderous yet quite voices, made of orders and warnings became audible and discernible

"Fuck!" Char bit his tongue "They have intercepted us!"

The group quickly ran in an indentation in the wall

"C'mon Ryan!" Shane pressed him "We have to get away from here! Fast!"

"They are going to cut us off from the surface!" Char warned them "I bet some of the are on our tail as well!"

"Shut up" Ryan waived them "I'm trying to think!" he said, as he returned to the map. Apparently, there was a passage that could lead to a collector conduit that finally opened up in the outskirts, where WRO presence was minimal. The only catch was that the passage was across the room, and the WRO soldiers were coming down fast

"All right then!" he exclaimed, keeping his voice low "The tunnel over there!" he pointed

"Are you sure is that one?" Shane cautiously asked

"Are you sure this is the time to ask such questions?" Char countered

"Whatever…" Shane gave up

"Be quiet!" Ryan cut them short "Now, if you move fast and light, those bastards up there might not even notice us. At three, all right?"

"I'm ready" Shane nodded

"I'm ready too" Char nodded back

"Ok, then. One… two… three!"

They all made a dash through the room towards the designated opening on the wall. The blue flashlights of the rifles were casting globes of eerie blue light on the floor.

As they reached the half-point, Ryan felt something with his foot, something that interrupted his sprint and nearly made him stumble. The metallic and echoing sound that stuff made immediately chimed throughout the entire chamber.

Apparently, he had just happened to kick a spent lantern on the floor, left there by some absent-minded city worker.

He swore. Just as the same time as multiple rays of light centred on his party

"Contact!" a soldier from a catwalk shouted

A hundred rifles, or seemingly so, clicked altogether

"Don't move!" someone cried "You are under arrest!"

"On your knees!"

"Do it! Do it now!"

Orders where repeated mercilessly. At some point, the soldiers expected Ryan and his company to comply.

Instead, he exchanged a look with his mates and again, he ran for cover.

The rifles shouted, spraying the floor with bullets, chipping clay and sand from the walls.

As Char had somehow managed to produce his pistol and shoots round in the soldiers' general direction, Ryan led the group into the tunnel. The wrong one.

2.

"So, Lieutenant, tell me exactly what is happening here…" Evan asked, to an alarmed and hectic WRO officer who was already busy enough trying to manage his own subordinates. The sudden arrival of the new elements, dispatched directly by the headquarters in Edge had only made his day even more messed up.

They were standing metres apart from the place in town where the _Shera_ had just touched the ground. The vessel had been given vectors to a city square downtown, as it approached Kalm. The plaza had been cordoned and secured and a temporary headquarters had been installed. Security was tight, and it was even tighter around a corner of the square which, apparently, hosted a maintenance access to the city sewers

"There's nothing much to say, Sir" the lieutenant answered, as he frantically looked around him, making sure everyone was keeping proper guard at their assigned position "Our units have sealed all major accesses and escape routes of the sewage system. If they are down there, they won't get out from there!"

"If they won't get out of there" Lieutenant Farron, standing next to Evan, asked him, pointing her finger downward "why haven't your men closed down on them yet? What are you waiting for?"

"It's not our fault" the WRO officer in charge of the operations waived his hands "We've been explicitly asked to wait for your intervention. Any initiative on our side will be punished. And I've already have a hot situation on my hand right now"

"I see" Evan nodded, sympathetically "It's a matter of jurisdiction"

"Apparently" the WRO officer replied "And I'm quite glad it's your jurisdiction now. Frankly speaking…"

"If something bad makes its way to the surface, lieutenant" Farron warned him "you'll have to deal with it. _Our_ jurisdiction is limited to anything beneath the soil"

"Whatever…" the lieutenant puffed, as he rush to an aide.

Evan and Sarah Farron exchanged a puzzled look, marvelling at the lieutenant's attitude. Behind them the SISF. company was gearing up, ready to get into action. Unbeknownst to the majority of the people and soldiers gazing upon these men and woman clad in their menacing black and grey battle dresses and sporting the latest equipment of the WRO inventory, Yuffie and Cade were amongst them. Their faces were concealed by the helmets and the balaclava

"Hey" Yuffie asked Cade, as she tried to squeeze her hand under her helmet to scratch an itch "Please tell me you're sweating too!" the ninja begged

"I am, indeed!" Cade nodded "I can't wait to go down in the sewers and enjoy a bit of cool, stale sewage air"

"I'm fine with everything about that" Yuffie shook her head "As long as I'll be able to cool down"

"You will cool down real soon" Cade told her "Lieutenant Farron is tough as nails, it seems. She is nowhere like me so behave" he warned her

"I'll do my best, Sir" she nodded, pretending to be assertive "Provided I'll be free of bad influences"

Cade silenced a laughter as he shook his head. Yuffie's eyebrows arched as she smiled under the balaclava. Then her voice grew concerned

"How are you?"

"How am I?" Cade replied "I'm fine. I'm chuffed. I'm going to plunge into a shithole dressed like a cyborg" he triumphantly said, holding up his rifle "There's people who would kill to be here in my place!"

"Hey, I'm serious!" Yuffie pressed him, her voice firmer but as concerned as before.

Cade must had sensed the urgency in the ninja's voice. He paused a bit. Then he spoke, looking down at himself "It could be better" he confessed "but at least I'm… we're doing something!"

"Try not to over-do it" Yuffie advised him, resting her hand over his shoulder "I'm here, if you need help!" she said, looking Cade right in his eyes.

They stood there for a while. As long as they felt it was allowed to them. Then Cade broke the silence "You surely don't lack in motherly spirit" he observed

Yuffie shrugged "I guess I've learnt from someone along the way"

They smiled at each other, then Cade turned towards the rest of the company. Twenty people in all. According to Lieutenant Farron fifteen of them would have actually descended, with five more elements being kept in stand by for any eventuality.

Lieutenant Sarah Farron herself walked back towards them as Evan made his way back inside the _Shera_

"Where's Evan going?" Cade asked himself, out loud

"Major Kallstrom will be on the _Shera_ to act as our upper echelon. Don't worry, he will be in touch with us all the time. Also because the situation is fluid, so we obviously need to be constantly updated" she explained, luring all the attention to her as the team turned to listen to its commanding officer. Cade made two steps back to fall in line with the others. Something told him that this time he'd better keep the instinct of taking command for himself

"Pay attention everyone!" Lieutenant Farron exclaimed as the squad neatly took place before her. Standing next to him, Yuffie could not resist the temptation of throwing a worried glance at Cade, whose eyes were now steady on Farron. It was almost as if she feared that the red-haired lieutenant, who despite her young age looked like a Valkyrie in her battledress, could get all of his attention and steal him from her. She was definitely her kind of guy, she thought with despair

'Hold your Chocobos, girl' a voice shouted inside her 'What on Gaia are you thinking about?'

She slightly shook her head as to sweep away that odd feeling. Could it be true? Could she be jealous of Cade?

"So, apparently" Farron began "The local WRO detachment guesses that a resistance movement has burrowed in the city sewers. Our objective is to infiltrate the sewers and arrest them. The upper departments of the WRO are keen on interrogating them to dig deeper into the events which took place today so they kindly asked us not to silence them before some henchman does it…"

"Arrest them? Are you sure, Sir?" Perkins asked

"Is that a problem for you, Perkins?" Farron asked "Or maybe were you craving for some blood today?"

"I'm sorry, Sir" Perkins apologized "I spoke incautiously"

"Don't worry" Farron replied with a grin "I'm used to that"

Cade could hear Corporal Biggs giggling behind him

"Our plan is simple. We descend down in that mess of dirty water and mice as big as cats and we'll try to apprehend whoever is down there. Of course" she interrupted herself, walking among the ranks of her fellow servicemembers as she lowered her voice, not to be heard by bystanders "we have other things in mind, as I trust everyone of you is aware…"

"Yes, Sir" everyone replied

"Good, then if you're ready" she continued "we'll begin in less than a minute"

The company made a line as it followed lieutenant Farron down to the building next to the opening which housed the access to the sewers. Judging from the markings on the walls, it had to be an intercept shaft, a vertical conduit that reached down the sewage system and that was often used by city workers to reach points of the conduit network where assistance was required

"There are already WRO squads in the most sensible points of the network. They are currently guarding gambits and exits but they will be ready to intervene if you need assistance…" a WRO officer explained Farron as she approached the locale

"I appreciate you concern, Sir, but I usually work alone" Farron cut him short, as she opened the door of the shack

"Well, then" the WRO officer shrugged, before opening the door, revealing the interior of the room "It's all yours. I'll be in touch via your reporting officer on the vessel" he said, walking away the SISF squad as it prepared to rappel down the conduit

The lid over the manhole had already been removed. The conduit stood there, black and smelling like rot

"That thing looks like a portal to another dimension" corporal Kewell commented "So much for the 'sewers'" he added

"But maybe the sewers are actually another dimension, for real!" Biggs echoed. The interior of the room were saturated by the stench emanating from the hole

"This surely will be fun… Cade commented, pinching his nose through the balaclava

"Why hasn't anyone brought gas masks?" Yuffie echoed him

Farron made a disgusted grimace as she peeked over the hole "You know, Captain Tuesti" she said, finally "I heard and read wonders about you. They say a mission is never boring if you are involved"

Cade made a surprise look "Oh, well. If that's what they say, I must admit I'm flattened"

"And" Farron continued, turning her attention to Yuffie "I haven't heard much about you, Mrs. Kissaragi, but as far as I know, you saved the world a couple of times"

"This is pretty much true" the ninja joyfully nodded, without an inch of modesty

"All right, then" Farron finally said, donning her helmet and fastening the bridles around her uniform "Let's see if this mission is going to be as fun as this place is nauseating" she concluded, proceeding to lower herself inside the hole.

Fifteen special forces member were climbing downstairs on a narrow and slippery ladder. A persistent hum could be heard in the background as gusts of wind, surprisingly enough, were blowing down there too.

Sarah Farron had already had her share of bizarre and dangerous adventures and mission on her back. She was the commanding officer of a platoon when the WRO had launched its final assault against the Midgar Fortress, ending the Deepground conflict. When the upper decks of the WRO had released the news that Director Tuesti intended to form a special operations division, she immediately volunteered.

She had been used to discipline and hardship since the age of fourteen, when she had been unofficially admitted to work in the mines of her native Corel as a member of the rescue team, her slender figure being a plus for operation where she had to infiltrate tight and narrow spaces.

She had taken her admission in the SISF division for granted, and so it was. It had finally gave her the chance to immerse herself in a challenging and proving environment.

If she really did love challenges, the situation she was currently in was something she would have loved: it was not just about the sewers and acting contrary to official orders without anyone else knowing, apart from her fellow comrades who were following her down the slippery steps of the passage. It was about a sword lingering upon Gaia and the rush to save Director Tuesti, without really knowing who could be trusted or not or where to go next and without knowing which move to take next

It was like going on an obstacle course blindfolded

"Whops!" a cry from above forced her to focus back on the here and now, as speckles of mud freefell through the passage and slightly touched her helmet "Damn these boots!" Perkins protested, as he regained his grip on the steps

"It's not the boots, Perkins" Corporal Biggs made him notice "It's just you not minding your steps"

"And who sees his feet in here?" Perkins replied "It's pitch black!"

"Perkins!" Farron shouted, making sure her voice could reach the sergeant "Mind your step and please do not fall down. You would bring everyone with you!"

"Yes, Sir!" Perkins lazily replied, as the group resumed climbing down

"I have a question for you two" Farron asked Cade and Yuffie

"Right now?" the ninja questioned her, as she was negotiating the ladder herself

"Maybe later" Sarah thought "But I still have to ask it"

"Whatever…" Cade uttered

"Excuse me, Mr. Tuesti!" a voice chirped again from above

"Who is it this time?" Farron shook her head

"It's Sergeant Perkins" Biggs explained "He has something to tell you!"

"Well, then go on" Cade invited him

"Hem…" Perkins cleared his throat "I beg you pardon if I've doubted you before on the ship, Sir" the sergeant told him "It was very impolite of myself"

"Is that so?" Cade wondered "Well, no apologies needed. It would have been hard for me as well to believe it!"

"Who did write the speech for you, Perkins?" Farron asked

"I could guess…" Kewell laughed

At some point during the descent, Farron felt no steps under her left feet. She swung her leg,. then she quickly looked below her and she could finally tell that they had reached the main conduit. She leapt down, landing on a small pool of water inside a wide conduct. She extracted a glow stick from her pocket and cracked it, illuminating the immediate surroundings with a greenish light

"Everybody, pay attention!" she instructed to the rest of the party above her "The ladder is over!"

One by one, all the members of the team jumped down and formed a huddle around lieutenant Farron. When the last of them finally reached the floor, Farron spoke in her transmitter

"Major, we are inside the sewers" she communicated "I'll activate my beacon" she said as she pressed a button on a device on her vest

"You come in clear and loud" Evan replied from the other side of the wire "And I have your beacon as well"

"Good. Perkins, Kewell, turn on yours!" she told them

"Now" Evan said in the receiver "I have the position of the other WRO squads and the last known positions of the so-called enemy. They are running in circles apparently, shifting from one floor to the other one"

"And they have not been intercepted yet?" Sarah marvelled

"Not every WRO soldier is as powerful as you are" he commented "Split into three squads, as planned, and proceed to the points I'll broadcast on your PHSs. All right?"

"Fine. Orders received" she replied "Are the communications secured?"

"Don't worry" Evan assured her "Nobody will tap in into our channels. Our sly plan will go on unnoticed. Oh, and can you pass me Cade, by the way?"

"All right" Farron nodded, as she took off her receiver from her ear, passing it to Cade "Take it. Evan wants to talk to you"

Cade took the receiver and plugged it into the ear

"Cade, do you read me?" Evan asked

"I do" he replied

"Good. Listen, breaking the code of the data stream is taking more time than expected, but there something more in it. We have one or two reason to suspect that the ones that blew up the WRO garrison and sent the message are the same person or people"

"Have they been identified yet?"

"No, not yet. They were carrying false IDs with them and the uniforms they wore were stolen, so the QR codes on their vests have led to a false path. Anyway, if there's someone hiding in the sewers, it's them"

"Can we make contact, at least? Prevent them from firing at us?" Cade asked

"I'm afraid I can't"

"Damn, you're useless, Evan" Cade protested

"Well, fuck you too Cade" Evan laughed "Anyway, they are just a couple of them. Even if they are well armed they can be easily cornered"

"That's it, Evan" Cade commented "I hate cornering amateurs. They turn into crazy shards when they realize they have their back on the wall"

"Try to practice a bit of diplomacy, then" Evan instructed him "Give me back Sarah, would you?"

Cade tossed the receiver back at Sarah

"Anything else worth knowing?" she asked

"Avoid WRO squads" Evan warned her "We are better off without them meddling into our affairs. I can eavesdrop on their conversation and have them in your earpiece if you like"

"That would be nice. And you bet I'll take care of the latter stuff as well" Sarah assured him

"Then you are all good to go" Evan concluded "Report if you make contact. And be careful! _Shera_ out!"

The conduit became eerily silent again, until Sarah spoke again

"All right, let's split from here" she said, as the PHS of every squad member lit up as they received the layout of the pipe network "Perkins, take Biggs, Juniper and Cassermann with you. I'll go with Yuffie, Cade and Kewell. Travis, take the rest under your lead. Try to focus in finding a safe path out of here rather than searching for those guys we're after. We might need to take them out with us without anyone noticing"

"Consider it done, Sir" the guy named Travis said

"Good. See you soon everybody!" Sarah waived

"What do we do if we find them? I mean the any of the guys…" Perkins asked

"Let them talk to me" Cade quickly rushed to answer to him "If there's someone they want to talk to, that'll be me…"

"What makes you so sure about that?" Farron asked him

"Call it intuition" Cade replied "Why contacting a random WRO vessel among the hundreds and hundreds of airships? It would make better sense if they knew who was on the _Shera…_ " he explained

Sarah and the others paused for a few seconds to consider Cade's hypothesis

"Makes sense enough to me" Sarah decided "If you stumble upon them tell them that Cade Tuesti is here!"

Everyone nodded as the squad leaders took their team members with them and all disappeared heading in different directions.

3.

Sarah, Cade, Yuffie and Kewell were carefully measuring each step as they advanced through the maze of conduits, casting light on each shady corner and cautiously peeking around every corner to avoid being caught by WRO patrols or being involuntarily ambushed by the fugitives they were after.

Although the authorities of Kalm up on the surface had given them the assurance that it was a matter a quantity over quality, the situation itself was critical, from their perspective. Attention had to be paid at every moment. One false step and their cover could blow up, thus exposing the true nature of their mission.

Yuffie was scoping the surroundings through the aim of her rifle. She had had to abandon her faithful shuriken on the ship, as she had given in to the objection that such equipment was too showy and someone might have recognized her thanks to her very trademark weapon. She had gladly left her beloved weapon behind, for the sake of the mission, only to realize that it took her very little time to familiarize with the XA90 WRO rifle, a bulky yet lightweight assault weapon. It was a cool toy, after all. She wished only she did not have to use it against people who only happened to be on the wrong side just because of something beyond their control.

In her heart she harboured the hope that everyone there shared her fear.

Speaking of which, Cade was there beside her as well. She could feel his tension from here, without even having to take a deeper look at him. He had been silent for a whole ten minutes, something unprecedented. Probably the ghosts of the past mission were still haunting him and he had to deal with that kind of stuff as well.

Finally, as they reached a crossroad, they halted. Sarah consulted her PHS to work out their position and determine which route had to be taken next

"Perkins" she exclaimed in her radio "Report in!"

"Perkins here" a voice replied "No contact whatsoever. We are proceeding to the lower floor"

"Good, proceed then!" Sarah continued "Travis, what's your status?"

"Travis, coming in!" Travis answered "We are sorting through every marked path leading away from this dungeon. But the WRO is guarding nine passages out of ten…"

"Where are you now?"

"We're proceeding at the lower floor too" Travis informed her

"Same as above" Sarah told him back "Keep searching. Good luck!"

"Anything new, Sir?" Kewell tentatively asked

"Apparently no" Sarah replied "Let's see if Evan has something on his side" she said while she meddled with her transmitter.

At the same time, Cade was carefully scoping the walls around him, trying to find traces of the passage of someone or something. To him, this whole affaire was akin to trail a prey in a forest. He knew that anyone walking through that maze was eventually bound to leave tell tale sings of their passage, in the form of spent equipment, scratches on the walls or misplaced objects. He was approached by Yuffie as his mind was beginning to wander again

"Are you all right?" she instinctively asked

"How about you?" Cade replied in a unexpectedly bitter manner, upsetting himself too in the process

"Slow down" Yuffie harked, just as offended "Next time I'll bear in mind that it's a capital offence worrying about you!"

Cade tried not to pay much attention to the ninja's remark. In a corner, Kewell was keeping guard against incoming and undesired visitors.

Cade briefly replayed his reaction to Yuffie's question in his mind. As every frame past by, he realized his mistake more and more. He quickly closed the gap between him and the now lonely ninja, who was guarding the corner opposite Kewell. He made for the corner next to her, keeping at a reasonable distance while Sarah chatted via radio with Evan

"I'm sorry" he whispered to her, trying to avoid to make excessive noise

"It's all right" she replied almost nonchalantly

Cade shook his head "I'm really sorry" he pressed on

"And I told you I'm really all right" Yuffie lively replied. Then she shifted next to him, kneeling under his rifle, under his puzzled look

"Are you nervous, aren't you?" she finally asked

Cade did not see anything useful in showing off bravado so he resolved to be honest this time

"I am" he replied, with a sigh

"Do you want to talk about it?" she offered

"Right here?" Cade questioned her

"Why not?" Yuffie smiled "Maybe it helps"

"I don't know" Cade explained "I have a kind of funny feeling about this"

Yuffie turned her head upwards "What do you mean?"

"I don't know" Cade simply replied, as he stared down the muzzle of his gun "I feel like an unexpected turn of events is about to happen" Yuffie cheered

"Good" Sarah's voice brought them all back with their feet on the ground "Apparently Evan and Ruding have hacked the sewers' control system. No unregistered passages have been detected outside the network from the moment we've entered. We are still in time to reach them before the WRO does"

"Provided the WRO leaves us an open path" Kewell objected

"Leave the incumbency of the way out to Travis" Farron told him "Come on! We have to descend to one more floor below. There's a path ahead leading to a staircase. We'll use that…" she indicated

As the party progressed to the staircase, Sarah resumed talking

"About the question I wanted to ask you before…" she said

"All right" Cade nodded, without missing his cue "Let's hear!" he invited her

"Kewell" Sarah told the fourth man "You won't be listening from now on, all right?"

"Of course not, Sir!" Kewell replied, pretending to focus on something else rather than the conversation about to take place

"Sounds like something terribly serious" Yuffie considered

"Well, it's not really that serious but, since we will be working together, I need to know a couple of things so…"

"Don't make us beg you, lieutenant" Cade intervened, as he somehow felt where Sarah was going for "We might get jumped on any second now"

"All right then. Is it there, by any chance, anything between you, Sir, and Warrant Officer Kissaragi?"

They were both dumbfounded by that question, although to a lesser extent when it came to Cade, who had put the likely of being asked such a question into account. Yuffie immediately retreated behind a convenient defensive line "What makes you think that we are… you know, partners?" she calmly enquired

"I don't know" Sarah countered "There's something between you two that suggests me that you are close acquaintances. Perhaps more than close…"

"You mean all that stuff regarding the non-verbal communication and not making eye contact when this and when that?" Cade asked, helping Kewell to open the door behind which the passage to the lower level stood

"I'm already managing a relationship in my unit" Sarah explained "And believe me, it requires the kind of leadership skills not taught at the Officer Examination Course. I'm not sure if that's your case as well but I need to be sure. Or, at least, as sure as I can be"

Surprisingly, Yuffie and Cade found themselves blushing while they stared at each other. Of course they could not see their cheeks turning red as their eyes met, as they idled in front of the staircase but they felt the warmth of an unknown and strange feeling inside them. Neither of them had the bravery to ponder one second more over that sensation

"Well" Yuffie broke the silence, as she began to walk down the staircase "he saved my life one, if that may help you, Sir!" she said, almost giggling, much to Cade's delight

"But, conversely, the first time we met was not really the usual date" Cade replied, as Yuffie sighed upon that remembrance. It seemed to her that years had past since the frantic chase down the dirty roads of Wutai, ending up in front of her father. Actually, just a week had passed. She was beginning to lose the sense of time

"Well, it couldn't be worse than mine. I remember that one time with my ex-girlfriend…"

"Kewell, no one is interested in your love misadventures!" Sarah reprimanded him "And as far as you are concerned, Yuffie, feel free to call me Sarah!" she grinned towards the ninja

"I'll try" Yuffie nodded "But what about the other romance in the team?" she curiously asked

"Do you really want to know?"

"Why not?" Cade distractedly intervened. Yuffie gave him a baffled look. He must have been very bored to engage his attention to such a trivial issue

"If you insist… one is Perkins" Sarah began "The other one, you could never imagine…"

"Corporal Biggs?" Yuffie slyly guessed

Sarah turned her head, amused

"Lucky guess" she commented with a lopsided smile

"Who would have thought about those two lovebirds?" Cade wondered, as they reached the lower level. The gusts they had heard throughout the upper floor were absent there. Coupled with a dimmer atmosphere, the result was that the second lower level resembled more a cave than a section of the sewer system

"Lights are permanently out" Kewell pointed out, as he flipped a switch down and up, without producing any visible consequence

"Switch to your night-scopes" Sarah instructed them, as they all lowered the night goggles before their eyes. The environment around them sank in a greenish, hazy light through the lenses of the night vision device. The darkness finally began revealing its secrets such as alcoves, shafts, wells and tubing. They currently found themselves on a giant platform, from where a plethora of staircases led to further platforms down below or concrete floors. Pipes of different gauge ran from the floor to the ceiling. The only sound was the omnipresent ticking of the drops of sludgy water

"Good, now let's not trip over some rusted stuff, or every citizen of Kalm will complain about the sewers being too noisy" Cade spurred the party as he momentarily took command

"Are we set about that matter?" Yuffie asked Sarah

"Which one?"

"The no-affairs-while-on-duty stuff and so on…"

"Oh, that one" Sarah remembered "You're good to go. You don't seem to pose a threat to the well being of my leadership and the integrity of the quad. For now!"

"Glad to hear that!"

"Never say never…" Kewell murmured

No replies came, as apparently nobody heard that remark.

Everyone took a corner of that room and proceeded to perlustrate the paths stemming from every point. Cade marvelled as how Yuffie could be so cold-blooded in such an environment.

'I'd never thought I could think that I might enjoy some time alone with her…' a dreamy voice floated inside his brain

 _It would be nice, after all that happened_

"That's strange…" Kewell thoughtfully commented, cutting short the train of thoughts and every voice inside Cade's head. The operative was shifting from one staircase to the other one, scoping the bottom of the room with the aiming device of his rifle

"What is strange?" Yuffie asked

"No WRO units in sight so far. And it's not that we snuck past them…"

"That's right" Sarah realized "According to the PHS we should have encountered at least a pair of them by now…"

"They have been reshuffled, maybe" Kewell guessed

The party reached what it appeared to be the middle of the room. There stood a ventilation shaft. They regrouped around it

"I'll try to contact Evan and see what he can see about it…"

Lieutenant Farron did not even have the time to press the PTT button that a sudden and powerful shockwave jolted every wall, making them all almost jump from the floor. Indeed they had to fight to regain their balance as the dust lifted by the explosion fell on their shoulder and the echo of the thunderous boom still resonated throughout the conduits

"Are you all right?" Sarah shouted "What happened?" she asked

"A gas leak?" Kewell guessed, alarmingly

"Very likely" Yuffie echoed him

As the echo of the deflagration subsided, a choir of voices lifted from the ventilation shaft around which they stood

"Something has definitely happened" Cade commented as he peeked down the black hole

"Evan, come in please! We need a sit-rep!" Sarah shouted in her radio

"Lieutenant Farron, are you all right?" Evan replied form the other side

"What happened? Can you tell us?" Sarah asked again. The explosion must have had a secondary effect on her hearing because the red-haired lieutenant was virtually screaming in the microphone

"Are you all right? I can't hear you very well. And beside, all the frequencies are buzzing right now!" Evan spoke again

"We're fine!" Sarah quickly took a look around her to evaluate the conditions of her fellow party members "As long as you care to tell us what happened"

"Several WRO squads were converging on the alleged location of the escapees!" Evan explained "But apparently, the mouse ate the cat"

"You mean an ambush?"

"Quite rightly so" Evan nodded (although nobody could see him) "There's a massive fire-fight down there. Guess we have found them!"

"Evan" Cade shouted in the transmitter, tearing it from Sarah's ear "Tell us the shortest path to reach them!"

"You want to go down there in the midst of a battle?" Yuffie nervously asked him, as Kewell was staring eyes wide open, in awe at Cade's determination

"You heard Evan? They have minutes left to play the last stand, or even less!" he shouted "Evan, the quickest route. Be quick!"

"You're sitting on top of it…" Evan told him

"You mean…" Cade uttered, as he lowered his eyes upon the shaft

"There's a ventilation shaft right there where you are" Evan explained, as Cade invited everyone to crawl inside the well by pointing his index finger downward "It should bring you right over the three guys holding the WRO squads at large…"

"Three guys? Are you sure it's just three of them?" Cade asked, incredulously

"It sounds like there's an entire army down there!" Yuffie pointed out, as the sound of the rifles cracking in the canals below them began to rise to the point of being clearly audible

"Take that passage and make contact with those guys down there!" Evan ordered them "Let's see what's happening there!"

"Roger, Evan" Sarah replied, as she was given her transmitter back. She immediately shifted the frequency in order to communicate with the other team leaders "Everyone else, have you heard? Perkins, mark my position and rejoin!"

"Roger, lieutenant!" Perkins heeded the call

"Travis" Sarah resumed "Have you found an exit?"

"Affirmative, but you won't like it!" Travis replied

"I don't care" the lieutenant pressed "As long as it takes us out of here fast, I'll like it…"

"An old drainage conduit, just below where the contact is taking place. Talking about good luck… Oh, shit!" Travis' transmission was interrupted by a muffled shriek in the distance and a gunfire that fiercely erupted almost instantly

"Travis! What's happening?"

"A fucking WRO patrol appeared behind us and began firing!" Travis explained, quickly panting as he dictated orders to his squad "De Santa is wounded!"

"Damn it!" Evan intervened "Did they figure out what we were up to already?"

"Not likely" Cade guessed, secretly in apprehension for the fate of the wounded SISF operator "They were probably just a bit too edgy. The WRO kids I mean. Tell them to get out of there, fast!" he advised

"Look Travis" Sarah spoke on the radio "Grab De Santa and all the others and get away from there! Get out of here first!"

"I'll send De Santa on the surface with Brunner and Phillips. Me and Hayward will secure the passage!" Travis resolutely replied

"Whatever!" Sarah gave in "Don't make me beg to go retrieve your corpse!" she caustically joked, ending her transmission. She frowned upon catching a glimpse of the look her squad members were throwing her

"Hey, I gave him the chance to go all the way out safely" she justified herself "It's not my fault if we have contrasting view on how to behave under certain circumstances…"

"Whatever" Cade shook his head "How about going down?" he proposed, as he stepped on the edge of the well

"I was just about to say that…" Sarah lazily trailed him

One floor below, hell had break loose when Shane had had the great idea of hurling a grenade at the feet of the platoon leader of a WRO team who had spotted them. The WRO soldiers had run for cover but the grenade had gone off next to a steam collector, tearing the steam tank apart and amplifying the effect of the explosion thousand-fold.

Chunks of bricks still glued together by cement mortar had fallen from the vault and pieces of tubes had flown all around. That ruckus had allowed Ryan and his party to take refuge under a wall on an elevated section of that floor but soon WRO forces were regaining momentum, closing in and firing on them mercilessly. Apparently, their party had been cornered, their backs on the wall

"Why are they shooting so desperately at us?" Char protested "Can't they see it's just the three of them?" he shouted, as bullets ricocheted all around them

"They can't see it, it's obvious!" Ryan observed

"Or maybe they just want to kill us altogether…" Char objected, terrified

"Now what are we going to do?" Shane asked, as Ryan leapt over the wall to shoot a salvo with his rifle, forcing a detachment of WRO soldiers to scatter and find cover

"Give me your last grenades!" he told Shane

"What are you going to do?" Shane asked

"There's an old pipe down there" he pointed towards an opening behind them, next to a bundle of steel panels and conduits that made up a bulky machinery "It goes all the way to the river running next to Kalm. Take it. I'll cover you!"

"Are you insane?" Char cried, as he shot blindly over the wall "You won't last a minute here!"

"Enough for you to get out of here" he assured them, lending them the hard drive "And bring this to a safe place!"

Char took the device into his own hands "What do you mean with 'a safe place'?"

"I…" Ryan was about to tell his friend to use his imagination, that every place was fine until the WRO did not put its eyes upon it for a couple of days. He was also about to add that he did not care what would happen to himself as long as his two friends would have made it outside the sewers safe and in one piece, and able to physically give the content of the disk to the people mentioned in the same message that his sister had sent him along with the device. As long as they lived, they had a chance to look for them and probably even find them. Chances where that the broadcasting had failed and the only chance to rely the message was a in-hand delivery.

As long as he was concerned, then, he had already done all he could do and had given in all his potential to accomplish the mission. He just hoped that it was enough not to let her beloved sister down.

Unfortunately, he could not speak a word further.

A red, blinking light flew past them, overshot them and landed over the machinery behind them, right under an opening on the roof, a passage they had not noticed before.

The explosion caught them unprepared as the concussion grenade went off, creating a temporary void that cut their breath enough to push them on the brink of unconsciousness. The first bang was later followed by a bright flash of light and a powerful shockwave that nearly tore apart every square inch of steel and concrete and bricks around them.

They were all violently pressed against the walls, breathless and motionless, their hearing sense blacking out and blinded.

They couldn't notice that a fourth figure had been caught by the explosion as it was descending from the hole over them.

Sarah had immediately taken point again as the squad prepared to climb down again through the narrow passage. As they closed the distance with the lower floor, the cracks and the shots were aggressively echoing throughout the tight spaces

"Looks like we are getting close!" Yuffie announced

"Sure we are" Sarah replied "Once we step down, try to find out were these three kids are and form a perimeter around them. If you see and WRO member getting too close, shoot over his head. This should scare him enough not to meddle with us…"

"So that's our plan" Cade commented "We act like we are part of this so-called resistance too…"

"Simple but effective" Sarah boasted "I'll leave the delicate task of convincing them to come with us to you, Mr. Tuesti"

"I'm a diplomat through to through" Cade nodded "I just hope we don't get recognized by our uniforms afterwards"

"Our vests got dirty enough to be mistaken for the ones of the Department of Public Works" Kewell intervened, raising his voice in order to be heard over the ever louder sound of the fire-fight

"Besides" Sarah added "The WRO fodders will be probably too busy trying to run for cover once we start shooting that our uniforms will be the last of their concern"

She stopped, as she could feel the last step of the ladder "Ok, looks like we are finally here" she said. The rifles were cracking loud and clear, and the muzzle flashes were illuminating the space below distinctly. Every now and then orders could be heard over the gunshots, and brief, sparse burst could be perceived, closer than the rest

"I'm going down" Sarah announced "Follow suit and follow me. Fire like you have to open your way through but do not hit anyone. At least try not to…" she ordered, as she jumped below.

Then the explosion took place. A deafening blast crawled up through the passage along with a cloud of thick dust. The walls and the ladder shook violently as a piercing whistle carved their eardrums, nearly making the three of them still holding the steps to lose the hold and fall down.

When the effect of the explosion faded away, Cade did not lose time and jumped down from the ladder without even reaching the last step first. He was greeted by the sight of three bodies strewn against a wall, all of them pressing their hands against their ears. The third had a black device on his lap. On his left the body of lieutenant Sarah Farron was stuck against a railing, with blood coming from a gush on his head.

As Kewell and Yuffie touched ground behind them, he decided to pick up his rifle and rush to the balcony. Below, two rows of WRO soldiers were closing in avoiding the muddy pit at the centre of the conduit. He put his rifle over the balcony and fired all the way until the clip was empty.

The WRO infantry had gained a window for assaulting the position held by Ryan and his teammates. After the grenade had been hurled and following the ensuing explosion, they had come out from their cover and advanced to a steady pace. Cade's reaction was unexpected.

Bullets purposefully flew over their heads or hit just before their feet. Everyone rushed to the nearest hiding available while pipes were pierced and concrete and bricks were pierced by an avalanche of bullets

"Fuck!" a soldier shouted "I thought that grenade had put them out of action for good!"

"They had reinforcements behind them!" a colleague told him

"No way! How could they reach them? All passages from here are sealed…"

Around them a cloud of hot steam coming from a riddled tube prevented them from having a clear visual of the elevated section. Beside, it forced them to stick to their hiding places even more since venturing through these jets of steam meant having the skin and the soft tissues melt down because of the extremely hot temperature.

As Cade felt the clip of his rifle reaching the last bullet, another muzzle started firing right next to him. Yuffie had taken position on the balcony too and was keeping the WRO servicemembers at bay with short but accurate salvos

"You sure were born with a gun on your hand and a ninja star on the other…" Cade commented smiling, as he readied his rifle to fire again

"Do you think so?" Yuffie smiled back, without losing a beat "Kewell is checking Sarah and the kids" she added

"I'll go and have a look then…" he said, reaching for his belt and handing the stun grenades to Yuffie, placing them next to her "Use them , in case someone peeks out and decides to make a run for us"

"I'll do!" the ninja nodded, resuming firing towards the alcoves where WRO soldiers were hiding. Cade meanwhile crawled towards Kewell, who was wrapping Sarah's head into a white gauze

"How is she?" he asked

"She banged her head pretty badly" Kewell explained "She's out for now"

"Can you wake her up? I need her alive and responsive…" Cade pressed him

"I'll try" Kewell shrugged

"Do your best or we'll get stuck here" Cade told him "How about the others?" he added, pointing to the three battered kids lined up against the wall

"They are fine, apparently" Kewell showed him "A bit shell-shocked but fine, for the most of it. Oh, by the way, I think you'd like to have this!" he said, handling the transmitter to Cade. He blew on it, as if to magically fix it and applied it inside the earlobe

"Evan, can you read me?" he spoke

"Cade! What happened? Why isn't Sarah on the device?" Evan apprehensively asked from the other side

"We have finally met up with the fugitives. But we have stumbled upon some sort of ambush" he reported "Sarah is alive and fine, but she's knock out"

"What about the three boys?"

"They are in front of me. Alive and well, apparently. What do you want me to do with them?"

"Ask them a couple of question. If our guess is right, they should be in possession of the physical data they had tried to broadcast earlier"

"And then?" Cade kept asking

"And then what?"

"We can't just leave them here!" Cade protested. He threw a concerned look over the three guys. Apart from the one in the middle, who was staring absent-mindedly at the tip of his boots, arms around his torso, the other two were staring at Cade with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension. And trembling.

"Don't even think of bringing them up on the _Shera_ with us" Evan sternly countered "We are already running on borrowed time and I'm busy as hell trying to keep WRO personnel out my way. Take them someplace safe but I need you to get back here with the disk or whatever it is as soon as possible. And unnoticed, better off!"

Cade sighed. His reaction was not left unnoticed as Evan continued "Listen Cade. I know it's not something you would do, but we can't play the good Samaritan forever. Your uncle is locked up, the world is about to be annihilated and we're literally between a rock and a hard place. Make up something if you wish, but I can't guarantee you that much if you stray from the schedule"

"All right then" Cade nodded, after a brief pause "I'll invent something. And I won't make you waste time. I'll catch you later" he concluded

He crawled in front of them, examining the three boys. They looked very young, yet he felt a vague sense of admiration and respect for three youngsters who had had the guts to burst into a WRO building, commandeer it and dive into the sewers in order to lose their pursuers, albeit getting themselves lost in the process. And all of that in order to broadcast to the Shera a bundle of information probably contained in the hard disk the guy on the right was holding in his hands. Bringing it to Evan surely would have made the whole bunch of renegade WRO operatives save valuable time.

'It's like looking at a reflection of myself' Cade pondered, as he conjured a proper way to interrogate them. It was time to ask some questions and shed some light on what had happened so far

"Ok" he started, painting the biggest and most reassuring smile he could on his face, as Yuffie's rifle kept spitting bullets in the background. He scratched his forearms as the wounds under the vest and the dressings began itching again "I suppose you three guys have a boss amidst your party. Who is it?"

The three of them stared at him, with the face of somebody who is not yet sure whether to trust someone or not

"I'm sorry" Cade shook his head "I've been too straightforward maybe" he apologized. He allowed himself a brief hiatus in the conversation, then he resumed

"In case you did not notice, we're on the same boat, guys" he explained "We might have the WRO patch on our uniform but our vests are darker and somehow cooler. We're from the ship you tried to broadcast a message to. Our commanding officer nearly died in order to get us to reach you" he said, pointing to Sarah, still unconscious with Kewell tending to her wounds "And we have two more squads opening up a path out of here. So what do you think? Are you willing to follow us?"

Nobody replied. Meanwhile Yuffie swore as she inserted another clip in the rifle. Cade threw her a couple from his personal reserve, which landed next to her feet

"Thanks, Cade!" the ninja exclaimed

"You're welcome!" he replied, proceeding to remove his helmet and the balaclava "All right. Maybe concealing my own identity is not something that really eases tensions. Cade Tuesti, major of the WRO, currently indicted for conspiracy and murder of the General of the General Staff Arian Clawbourne. Transparency first!"

"You're Cade Tuesti?" the guy in the middle finally woke up from his state of trance, eyes wide open

"Do we already know each other?" Cade asked, amazed by the enthusiastic feedback

"No, we don't" the boy replied "We… have a common acquaintance" he tentatively said

"Whatever" Cade dismissed him "Who leads the pack here, guys?"

The boy on the right and the one on the left promptly pointed towards the guy in the middle

"As I thought" Cade said "I told you my name. The least you can do is tell me yours"

"Char Rousa"

"Shane McCreary"

"And you?" Cade's eyes ended up on the boy in the middle

"Ryan" he simply said

"Ryan what?" Cade pressed him

"Ryan" he simply said again, lowering his eyes, seemingly avoiding eye contact with Cade "That's enough"

"Playing the shady guy, uh? It could work, I guess" Cade commented, as he turned to Char, then "Is that what I think it is?"

Char launched an interrogative gaze to his mates, as if to ask for an advice or maybe permission to give away the device

"Come on Char!" Shane told him "Give him the disk. What else can we do?"

"All right then" Char extended his arm, handing the black hard drive over to Cade, who noticed the string of numbers written over it

"What's that string of numbers?" he asked

"I don't know" Ryan shrugged "My sis… the one who gave it to us told us to broadcast the data to that network address"

"Evan are you with us?" Cade asked in his transmitter

"I am" Evan replied "What do you need?"

Cade read out the sequence of numbers written on the case of the disk

"It's the network address of the Shera's mainframe" the voice of Ruding had traded places with Evan's "Where did you find it?"

"On the case of a hard disk containing, I surmise, the original data being broadcasted by the station" Cade explained "I've got them with me right now"

"Seriously?" Evan's voice appeared again "You'd better bring it here now. The cracking process is taking an increasingly higher amount of time"

"Consider it done, then!"

"Done what?" Shane asked

"Listen, we are running out of time" Cade explained "I need to get that disk and bring it on the Shera, our airship"

"What about us?" Char asked, worriedly

"Don't worry" Kewell appeared behind Cade "I'll check up your conditions and we will take you out of here" he said, as he proceeded to probe on Shane

"I'm alright, man!" the boy protested "Just take me out of here!"

"What about you two?" Kewell questioned the other boys

"We're fine, I guess" Char replied for both himself and Ryan

"Cool, more time saved. Would you care giving me that?" again Cade pointed towards the hard disk. As Char extended his arm towards Cade's reach, Shane momentarily erupted

"Wait, Char! Ryan, are we sure we are doing the right thing?"

Ryan rolled his eyes "She trusted him, at least that's what she told me!"

"Yeah, I know" Shane conceded him "But you sister is dead now, and probably has been killed by people wearing the same stuff they are wearing…"

"Shane, shut the fuck up!" Char violently interrupted him "I'm giving it in, at least they won't be chasing us no more…"

"Well, do whatever you want" Shane bitterly concluded "I'm sick of this all" he spat, swinging his hand over a pool of dirty water next to him "I just want to get the hell out of here!" he concluded

"Yeah, me too" Ryan followed, as he carefully and slowly stood up, reaching for Cade "Please!" he begged, holding Cade's arm "Take us out of here. We'll be all right on our own out there…"

"I hope so" Cade murmured "Because I can't take you with me. We are pulling something pretty dangerous …"

From the hole they had just came down, a figure leapt down, followed by another one, and two more. Cade swiftly aimed the rifle at them but he lowered the gun almost instantly as he recognized Perkins, Biggs and their squad mates along with them

"Cavalry has arrived!" Biggs shouted

"Fancy some help?" Perkins asked, grinning "I reckon you must be pretty busy down here"

"Of course we are, and I could use some help" he gestured towards Yuffie "Go give Yuffie a hand fend off the WRO soldiers there below. She's firing from the balcony. Try not to kill anyone, though. They're just cannon fodder…"

"Coming through" Perkins announced, as he crawled next to Yuffie, beginning to fire as soon as he reached the wall. Biggs halted as she recognized Sarah, who by now had partially regained consciousness

"Lieutenant!" Biggs shouted "What happened?"

"A concussion grenade hit her pretty badly" Kewell explained "But she will be back on her feet in a matter of seconds"

"All right then" Cade, stood up, bolstered by the fact that apparently he had been just invested with the responsibility of leading the pack out of the sewage "Let's move out. Guys, up on your legs and double time out of this shithole" he enthusiastically spurred the troop

"Cade, wait a second!" Evan tapped in into the radio

"Speak up, Evan!" Cade replied

"You need to stir up things a little bit more down there" Evan told him "Otherwise the WRO up here will think that something is wrong!"

"What does it mean?"

"It means that you need a valid excuse to retreat from the operations' theatre and to justify the fact that a special force team has been unable to locate and apprehend a band of amateurish wanna-be terrorists"

"Say no more!" Cade interrupted him "I've got a solution popping up in my mind right now. What's the status down there? I mean, _up_ there?"

"Everyone is frantic" Evan reported "They heard about the shootout and they are all thinking that a whole army of insurgents is hiding down there!"

"Ok, so we clearly need a diversion…" Cade thought

"Of course you do" Evan replied "Hayward is rolling thumbs waiting for you at the conduit down there. You'd better move or he will start shooting rats out of boredom!" he joked

"I heard you!" Hayward got in line "And no, I'm perfectly cool. De Santa and Brunner are already out there. They will try to look less striking and proceed to the outskirts of the town where we will pick them up"

"Will you be able to take off without interferences?" Cade asked

"Leave the bureaucracy to me" Evan reassured him "You just concentrate on causing the biggest problem you can down there…" he concluded, as he cut the communication down

"Did something new happen?" Yuffie asked him, as she had given up her place to Perkins' team

"We are getting out of here. and with a bang too!"

"That sounds interesting!" she commented, with an entertained smile "I was nearly falling asleep spraying bullets down there"

"Well, now thing are going to be rockier" Cade told her "Take the three of them and lead them to the exit at the lower level. It's still safe down there, so don't worry about a thing!"

"I can look after myself!" she grumped "Don't you just remember that?"

"Hey, I'm just whishing things to be easy for you" he winked, as Yuffie laughed back "Take Kewell and our ever-awake Sarah with you!"

"Easy on her!" she reprimanded him "She got shook up by a grenade!"

"Well, so let's give her a medal. A giant, shiny, golden medal. And next time she steps on a landmine we'll promote her to general!"

Yuffie laughed again "I'd better go then" she pointed towards Kewell, who was laboriously holding Sarah up and was launching a fierce look towards them, as to end up their chatter and make them notice he was alone with three guys who wished nothing but escaping and a commanding officer who thought she was still in the midst of sleeping soundly. Yuffie quickly leaped, grabbing Sarah by the free arm and pressing Ryan's gang to help her. He turned and stared at the giant machinery that stood there at the centre of the elevated section where they had found Ryan and his mates, next to a small porthole where Yuffie and the others disappeared.

He walked around it for a few seconds then he finally made up his mind: apparently the machinery was nothing but a giant pump designed to provide flooding water for the canal that stemmed from there. A multitude of red pipes ran from it, as Cade could see by removing a panel from a side and throwing it aside. He quickly searched for the switch, until he found a giant lever, all painted in yellow and black where the rust had not yet eaten the steel. Hoping that the pump would start after years and years of apparent inactivity, he pulled it downward using his whole body as a deadweight, as his forearm began aching again.

The pump started with a roar, as plumes of steam erupted from the vents. The giant shaft was rotating inside the steely container, shaking the whole block from its basement. Cade marvelled at the giant hardware as he vigorously scratched his arms thorough the thick vest.

"Perkins" Cade shouted over the thundering noise filling the room "Give me a couple of grenades!" he ordered

Perkins momentarily turned away from the balcony and rolled a couple of High Yield Explosion grenades to Cade

"Serve yourself" he told him "Are them for what I think they are?" he asked

"Indeed!" Cade nodded "Thanks, by the way. The yellow ones, right the kind I needed!" he observed as he proceeded to throw them inside the shaft compartment through a hatch on the side of the box. The grenades fell down the rotating pole, clanking against the steel they encountered while descending to the bottom of the well

"Evan wants some big fireworks before we leave!" he explained the rest of the SISF that had stayed behind to cover the escape of the rest of the team "I've hurled your grenades in the shaft. Let's run away!" he shouted, as he leant from the balcony himself and started shooting randomly below him. One of his stray bullets hit a WRO soldier on the thigh, making him collapse to the ground

"Sorry about that, pal!" he silently apologize, since he did not score that shot purposefully at all

"I just hope they did not recognize us" Biggs noted "Otherwise…"

A loud explosion interrupted her, shaking the whole canal from the bottom to the top. The shrieking cry of gears being dislodged from their pegs echoed through the corridors as the section of the shaft not concealed by the container started moving up and down beside spinning, and tilting more and more at every turn, nearly consuming the rim of the upper opening of the containment vessel.

"There it goes!" Cade shouted "You'd better go while you can or soon everything will collapse on us!"

As he spoke, pieces of walls started falling from the vault as the shaft, unbridled, was pounding the walls, dancing to the rhythm of the friction of metallic surfaces one against each other. The whole sewer was about to crumble like a sand castle. WRO soldiers started running away from the canal below and proceed to the quickest route to the surface. Steel panels started to bail from their frames along with salvos of rivets as jets of steam began erupting from bent pipes around the machinery. The pressure inside the box was rising enormously as the warped conduits were trapping hot columns of vaporized air into sections filling up quickly

As Perkins closed the queue of SISF personnel disappearing though the hatch next to the metal container about to blow, Cade leant from the balcony observing the scene of WRO soldiers escaping a dreadful fate. He meant to warn them of the impending disaster but apparently it was not needed. Everyone had reached for a safe spot far away already.

It was his turn now.

He quickly ran towards the hatch and dived in it, as lights went out above him and sparks flew all around as electric wires began overloading and got severed by flying shards or chunks of bricks falling upon them.

A quake ripped the canal apart as the shaft finally tore apart and the steam collected erupted outside its containments, causing a powerful explosion which demolished the entire upper section.

Cade slid down the ladder seconds after the passage collapsed over him.

4.

The trip back to the surface was mostly uneventful. The small, tight and dark passage they had found on their scheme was nearly claustrophobic so nobody really talked for fear of consuming the already squeezed amount of air in the conduit.

Cade himself had to bend over in order to fit into the short tunnel, and had to abstain from wearing the helmet as the clearance was so low that his scalp was grazed by the roof.

The silence, sparsely interrupted and adorned by the steps of the line of SISF personnel plus Ryan, Char and Shane, let him think about the outcome of the operation: it was surely better than the last one. They had rescued a group of kids who, posing as WRO soldiers, had sent a pirate broadcast to the Shera, whose nature was yet to be identified; then they had retrieved the disk containing the data themselves; last but not the least, they had escaped the sewers of the city of Kalm, while caught in a crossfire. That surely added up to his resume.

His excitement was swept away and promptly replaced with anxiety, as his thought immediately veered upon his uncle Reeve, still locked inside somewhere not yet clear. And the calamity pending like a sword tied to a feeble string upon Gaia. There was so much to do, so much unknown and so little time. Exhaustion nearly got a grip on him, but then Hayward, the soldier leading the line exclaimed

"Light ahead! At last…"

"Watch out!" Sarah warned him. She had regained consciousness. Not as promptly as Kewell had estimated but she was finally upright and lively "We might get a surprise party any second now!"

"Evan told us to be cool" Yuffie countered

"Do you know where Mr. Cool ended up?" Perkins asked her

"Never mind!" Yuffie replied with a sigh, realizing that the hunky sergeant was probably quite right. Yuffie and Cade let the guard down once, just once. And she remembered too well how it ended. Easy to judge afterwards, though

They surfaced again. Apparently they had been underground far longer than they thought because it was dusk already. The conduit popped up in a meadow somewhere far from downtown, on a small shore on the bank of the river running along the north-eastern suburbs of Kalm. The city light began appearing against the orange sky in the distance. Closer, huddle of houses were scattered here and there, with paddocks and fields of hay and corn amidst them. A gentle breeze was blowing and the grasslands reminisced a green and yellowy sea. After spending so many hours in a dim, obscure and stenchy sewage, that vision before their eyes was nothing but pure heaven

"What now?" Yuffie asked

"We wait for the Shera, that's what" Cade answered, sitting cross-legged "I hope you have a place to stay, you three!"

"We'll make it on foot to our houses" Shane nodded "They are not far from here…"

"Thanks for everything, Mr…?" Char tentatively offered his gratitude, faltering upon being unable to recall Cade's name

"That's Cade for you" Cade shook his head, springing up from the ground "Look after yourself. And don't poke your nose around too much. They still don't have sketched out your faces but be careful nonetheless"

"We will!" Char nodded

"And don't forget to give back those uniforms" Perkins joked "If you really want one of them you'd better join the WRO"

"You surely have some potential" Biggs smiled "I'd think about it, if I were you!"

"But we are in the WRO" Shane pointed out "I mean, we already are!"

Kewell whistled. Cade made a complacent smile.

"And you exposed yourselves so much for all this?" Yuffie asked, agape "There must be something really important in here…" she said, pointing at the pouch were Cade was holding the hard drive. He patted that very pocket, as if to be sure the disk was still there

"Do you happen to know what's in there, by chance?" Sarah mumbled, opening her mouth for the first time in a while since she regained consciousness

"Not really" Char shook his head

"I'm afraid we don't" Shane echoed. Ryan kept looking down at himself, instead

"And you did all this without even knowing what kind of stuff you were broadcasting?" Cade asked them incredulously "You must be very bold… or stupid" he dared

"I just did what she told me to do, all right?" Ryan shouted, breaking his long lasting silence. He abruptly stood up as well then, walking away and putting some distance between himself and all the others. Everyone followed him with a questioning gaze

"He needs some lessons about handling pressure, though…" Perkins observed with a grin. Biggs immediately poked him in the ribs, in a reprimanding manner

"You need to excuse him" Char explained "Ryan has gone through a bit of harsh stuff lately…"

"Like what?" Yuffie enquired

"Well…" Shane hesitated "One day…" but as he began, Cade resolutely walked past him, reaching for Ryan who had reached the bank of the river and was throwing pebbles in the water. Yuffie followed him with her eyes

"Why don't you begin by simply telling us where did you get a hold of that device, for a start?" Cade heard Sarah questioning the two boys in the distance as he reached the river himself. There stood Ryan, who was absorbed into letting stones bounce over the water before they sank into the muddy water of the river

"Hey!" Cade waived at him

"You got the disk, you saved us and you're going to save the world" Ryan bitterly told him, without turning or letting go of his focus on the trajectory of the stony bullets he was pelting before him "You got what you came for. Now leave us… I mean, leave me alone!"

"Is it because of your sister, isn't it?" Cade asked him, stepping beside Ryan, inches from the waterline

"Even if, what would you care?" Ryan replied, swinging his arm to hurl the next stone in the water

"You're not the kind of guy who would join the WRO on his own accord, trust me! I've seen tons of people queuing up to enlist themselves" Cade taunted him "and you fall in the category of people doing it for the sake of someone else. Am I right?" he concluded

Ryan kept concentrated on the flight of the stone he had just flung

"If it wasn't for your sister, you would not be in that grey uniform. Am I right?" Cade kept asking, trying to probe Ryan's comfort zone. At

last Ryan turned towards him, after the last attempt at bouncing the stone over the surface of the river failed miserably

"And if it wasn't for you she'd be still alive!" he shouted, fiercely standing towards him. Cade hoped they stood reasonably far from the rest of the group, as Ryan's cry echoed throughout the meadow "You showboat yourself, you show off and you play the handsome leading man but to me you'll always be the one that let my sister die in that Godforsaken place!" he kept on harking, keeping his stare right into his Cade's eyes

"I don't even know why she trusted you so much" the boy kept going on, on the verge of bursting into tears "She even said she… Ah, damn it I can't believe this…" he shook his head, waiving his arms and prancing away, kicking frustration away, hissing and growling. He eventually calmed down.

Cade breathed in, as a painful memory came knocking on his mind's door. One of the many he had. The most recent. He reached for a wallet he had kept with him in the SISF tactical vest. He produced a yellowy, sticky and worn out passport-sized picture portraying a man and a woman, smiling and leaning against each other. The man on the left was Cade, while the lady was a blonde girl who could be seen wearing a white blouse and who had her long, sleek, blonde hair wrapped up in a ponytail.

Kayla.

He briefly stared at the picture.

A couple of feet higher, Yuffie had witnessed the confrontation. She could not see the picture herself but she had quickly put the pieces of the jigsaw together.

So did Cade. Only to him it was clearly something not really that easy. Emotionally, that was.

"You are Ryan Walker" he murmured, eyes glued to the picture "You are Kayla's brother…"

"I am" Ryan replied, panting from the physically demanding session of frustration venting he had endured just seconds before

"So that's how things went" Cade guessed, trying to prevent his heart from falling into the obscure abyss that opened under his feet every time Kayla came to his mind "Kayla had somehow managed to make you have this disk and told you to broadcast these information to the Shera" he paused "Because she knew I would be there if a storm would have hit. Or at least the people she trusted more…"

"There a short clip in the disc" Ryan explained "She wrote it in a note I got along with the package containing the hard drive, along with the instruction. Don't tell me how did she managed to send it to the Kalm post office because I don't know jack shit about it. It was in a postal box and the guys at the post office told me there was something lying there for me"

Cade stood silent, as the breeze gently messed up with his hair

"The world is strange, huh?" Ryan asked, almost laughing "Kayla gets killed or dies, whatever, in what they label as 'unknown circumstances' and then she magically writes me asking me to take what she called 'vital information' to the one who was supposed to protect her…"

"Why do you think I was supposed to protect her?" Cade interrupted him, feeling a nerve being touched

"Come one" Ryan scoffed "We would call them every now and then and my mom would be all worried about her being safe and all and she kept repeating was 'Don't worry, I've got somebody watching me', 'Don't worry, I've got my saviour angel beside me', while laughing and smiling and all… And then one day two WRO soldiers come up to our house and they tell us that Kayla has died, and the ones responsible for their deaths are the same that led the coup against the General Staff" he paused, irate, to catch breath. Then he resumed talking again "But no, Kayla then tells me that she trusts you, no matter if the nephew of Director Tuesti is on a most wanted list without even a picture and…" he stopped, bringing his hands to his head, just like as if he had been prayed by a malignant headache

"Tell me what I should think of it, if you're the one with all the answers" Ryan continued, as he sat on a rock, cutting himself some slack after the monologue. Cade got closer to him and patted him on the shoulder

"I'm sorry about what happened to your sister" Cade told him "And I'm sorry if I did not do enough to save her!"

It was not just that, Cade realized. Kayla had accepted the fact that she was going to die in such an unapologetic way that seemed completely off with the circumstances. The thing that hurt him the most was the fact that he had acted so dense towards her.

Cade had lost so many beloved people in his life that putting a barrier between him and Kayla was a way to shelter himself for the fear of losing her as well.

What did he got in return? Kayla was dead, eventually. And maybe with the regret of not being able to have her love for him returned.

Ryan started sobbing. Cade knelt beside him, wrapping his arm around Ryan' shoulder "I miss her too. I can't think of someone who doesn't miss her… and I've treated her very unfairly" he said

Ryan covered his face with his hands "Sorry if I overreacted" he confessed, finally "But I was just feeling… odd!" he concluded

"Don't worry. Nothing to apologize for" Cade assured him "It happens form time to time to the boldest of the warrior. We have to release some pressure sometime, otherwise it kills us"

Ryan snorted, wiping away the tears from his eyes "I did it just for her" he told Cade "If it wasn't for her I wouldn't have joined the WRO myself, in the first place. And if that thing did not pop up at the post office, I would be probably at home on leave by now…"

"I know, I know" Cade nodded, smiling "She was truly someone inspiring"

Ryan finally raised his head "I can't believe she's not here anymore"

"Look" Cade looked Ryan straight into his eyes "I know it hurts. I know that sometimes you can't think of anyone else beside her. And I bet my left hand you torture yourself thinking that you could have probably done something to save her. I know it because I'm going through this as well. I cried like… I've never cried before in my life when Kayla died in my arms in that place, up north"

"I cried because I realized just there that she was the special girl she had been all along her life. That's why life sucks sometimes. We realize things only when it's too late. Sometimes we are too pride for our own sake. Kayla loved me, she confessed it to me right there, on that ugly ass place where everything was grey and dull. She confessed it to me while she was bleeding to death after having emptied an entire clip at a platoon of rogue WRO soldiers. And I was not even aware she could handle a gun"

"I was so self absorbed in my own past that I had forgot about the present. I forgot that among the multitude of people that respected, hated, feared and loved me there was someone who had a place in her heart for me. The worst thing is that I felt the same way but I purposefully decided to ignore that. Because I was selfish as fuck and I was not willing to go through that kind of ordeal once again. And that thing probably made your sister suffer"

"She said she would have looked after me, just before passing away. I sincerely hope she will look after a better person than the one that did not reciprocate her love. I have plenty of time to do that. Life goes on. You either live long enough and become the better man you wish you'd become, or at least you die trying…"

Shivers ran down Yuffie's spine as she crawled behind a bush. Her impression was that Cade was actually having a talk to himself rather than to Ryan

"I did not die today" Ryan considered "Guess this gives me some more time to try…" he smiled

Cade laughed "Well, I like your optimism. Surely you have time" he told him "If we'll do things properly, in a couple of days this will be over…" he pondered

"What can I do, for now?" Ryan urgently asked him, as the sun was setting under the horizon in the distance. The first star were beginning to appear in the sky at the other end of the sunset. Cade suddenly hissed as another burst of pain rose from his arms, forcing him to bend forward and grab his limbs

"Hey, what's happening to you?" Ryan apprehensively asked, standing up

"Nothing" Cade replied, breathing in to cope with the pain "Just an improperly dressed wound opening up again I guess" Unfortunately it wasn't just that: his head was gently swaying as he felt sweat running down his head from his scalp. Suddenly he felt like someone was setting him on fire

"You don't look very good" Ryan murmured

"Listen" Cade told him, coping with the uneasiness at the best of his possibilities "We'd better join the others as soon as we can. Our airship will land and pick us up any second now!"

Upon hearing these words, Yuffie ran towards the other SISF personnel, lightly treading the grass

"All right then" Ryan agreed, as he helped a funny looking Cade to stand up "About my last question, what can I…?"

"Nothing" Cade cut him short

"But…" Ryan protested

"Look, there will be a time when you will make your sister proud by simply signing your name on an officer commission form, but it won't be today, nor tomorrow" he explained "Please, this is going to be big and I don't want someone like you to be involved"

Ryan threw him a disappointed look

"Look after your town, your friends and your loved ones" Ryan explained him, with a sympathetic voice "It's hard enough protecting the people you are most fond of. I had to and I failed" he lowered his eyes "See it like a chance to be better than me, ok?"

Ryan shook his head "I think I can understand a bit clearly why Kayla liked you…" he mused, as they climbed the sand-wall and began their walk towards the rest of the team

"I never really figured it out myself…" Cade smiled, fighting with the urge of puking right there on the spot. He was feeling sicker and sicker as seconds past

"Do you mind if I ask you… one more thing?" Ryan told him

"Go on"

Ryan cleared his throat "They never told us where her… body is"

"Say no more!" Cade assured him.

His body was then shaken by a shiver or relief as, next to the people they had left alone and who were waiving at them, the towering profile of the Shera appeared.


	16. Mideel

MIDEEL

1.

The small town of Mideel had woken up under its trademark crystal clear summer sky.

Today the morning bustle through the narrow streets of the settlement was somehow quieter than ever. Maybe it had to do with the fact that, after the turmoil in Edge, the WRO had issued severe travel restrictions and enforced a strict curfew on worldwide transportation, because otherwise the town centre would have been usually crowded with tourist and out-of-towners who typically descended to Mideel to enjoy its renewed hot springs and its pristine seaside.

Therefore the roads, usually busy and packed with visitors, where mostly empty today as whoever had the opportunity had already made their way back home with the first outbound transportation available, avoiding the risk of being stranded in Mideel. Save for some local townsman who had risen early to carry out some chores or some vendors setting up their store nonetheless, the atmosphere was quiet and silent.

To most of the townspeople, it was a welcomed hiatus. They did not mind the visitors, as the local economy relied primarily on that, but an increasing slice of the population was becoming increasingly worried about the effective hosting capacity of a place which was no bigger than a mid-sized town. Mideel was already coping with the aftermath of the reconstruction of the settlement, after it had literally caved in during the events related to the Meteor and the Jenova Crisis. The inhabitants were more aware than ever that the place where they stood was their home, and not just a tourist attraction like the Golden Saucer.

Aaron Ruava, a middle-aged man standing on the threshold of his household in the southern part of the town, knew that too well. He also knew that, behind the profitable and somehow amusing trademark feature of Mideel stood the power of the Mako. Mideel indeed was remarkable for being one of the places on Gaia were Mako flowed so close to the surface to actually heat up the water springs standing right on top of it. It was the agitation of the Mako (and the intervention of the Weapons) that had forced men like Aaron to flee at first and then to sweat and work hard to reconstruct their village.

He reached for his hay cap with his hand and adjusted the tilt to shelter his eyes from the rays of the morning sun. Aaron was a fisherman who had finally managed to make a living out of his activity by delivering the fruits of his labour to the restaurants and eateries that had recently sprung up around Mideel. Weapons or Mako, his duty was to show up at the beach and provide food for his family, who was till soundly sleeping inside.

His daily routine was to check the nets laid out from the piers at first, to see if some daring and oblivious fish got tangled between the wires. Then he would have brought his small boat out of the workshop and set for the sea to actively look for some valuable prey. It was the perfect season to catch some prized tunas, and Aaron wished himself good luck as he closed the entrance to this own premises behind him.

He set towards the littoral south of Mideel, on a dirty track that the Town Council had actually planned to pave. A move, Aaron suspected, dictated by the will to appease the touristic lobbies pushing to turn Mideel into the seaside version of the Golden Saucer. A move against which most of the local townspeople (Aaron himself included) had moved a staunch opposition.

Without even realizing it, like most of the times, Aaron had already reached the half-point of the route. His eyes squinted, as in the distance he spotted someone running towards him.

The figure in the distance grew closer. It was a young boy. After a couple of moments later, Aaron recognized him as the young son of a family of fishermen to whom Aaron was well acquainted with

"Hey, Kean" Aaron waived the young lad "Are you training for the school's track team? Under this sun? At this time of the day?" he chuckled

"You've got to come and see it for yourself, Aaron!" the boy simply replied, his voice broken by a shock of unknown origin and panting like the air had been sucked around him.

Something turned on in Aaron's mind

"Did someone cut the nets loose again?" Aaron asked, alarmed. As a fisherman who had to mind the rival, powerful fishing corporations and the occasional strife between small fishermen, that was his chief concern

"No, it's way worse" the boy frantically shook his head "I've never seen anything like that in my life…"

Aaron thought that probably something very serious was underway. Kean Wilson came from a family of sturdy people who had never had a history of drinking habits or unfair practices. They were well respected by almost everybody. To be honest, everyone pretty much respected everyone else in Mideel. So Aaron was not really prone to think that the young guy in front of him was exaggerating of, worse, fooling with him. Apparently there was something that had happened, worse than someone meddling with his equipment, maybe

"Can you tell me what happened, then?" he resolutely asked "It seems like the Reaper just knocked at your door, Kean!"

"Just follow me, Aaron…" the boy uttered, before turning away and running towards the beach again

"Oh, boy! At least wait for me…" Aaron exclaimed fruitlessly, as he finally resolved to step up his pace. A feat quite hard to accomplish giving his not so young body, his wooden slips and the fishing rod perched on his shoulder.

After a brief run, Aaron finally came with the last bend of the track in sight. It was the last dash before the beach would open up in all his magnificence: a stretch of white sand arranged in a crescent, washed by a sea as blue as the sky above it. Near the border with the vegetation stood the huts of the fisherman and the sheds where their equipment and boats were stored. And, much to his dismay, some venues that sold souvenirs and snacks for beachgoers. They were the trailblazers to resorts built right on the waterline, in his opinion.

He finally got past the bend and prepared himself to whatever could appear in front of him. Too bad nothing could prevent his old and frail fisherman's heart to ache at the sight of the nearly apocalyptic vision which unfolded before him.

The waterline and the adjacent sand was stained black, and even the sea close to the beach was darker than usual.

Aaron stood there, speechless and agape, staring at that inexplicable eyesore. He immediately walked closer to what at first he thought was an oil spill drifted on the Mideel coastline.

No man so deeply connected to the sea could stand the vision of a multitude of what turned out to be dead fishes washed ashore, with some of them still fluttering on the sand, as if they were fighting to hold life within themselves.

As Aaron looked more carefully, it could tell it wasn't only tunas, barracudas and tarpons but also jellyfishes. He looked closer to a point where several people had gathered to contemplate the remnants of a dolphin, lying on its side.

A tear was forming in the corner of his eye. The entire fauna of the ocean had formed a black banner running the exact length of the beach. A banner that could mean a huge loss of profit for some, a mortal wound to Gaia and the ocean for others. Aaron was among the latter.

As he approached further, he could the see that virtually half of the inhabitants of Mideel had descended to the beach to witness that gruesome spectacle. A row of WRO personnel, the remnants of the local garrison after most of the forces had been quickly dispatched to Edge or to other major cities to deal with the aftermath of the attempted coup-d-etàt, was cordoning off the area

"Please people" a WRO soldier with the ranks of sergeant was shouting on top of his lungs "A veterinary crew is en route from Junon and they will take the matter in their own hand. I urge you to go back to your houses and…"

"I'm not going back anywhere!" a man countered angrily, waiving his fist in the air "We've got food to bring to our tables. What are we going to eat if you don't let us go at sea?"

"Sir, as far as we are concerned" the WRO sergeant replied, grabbing a handkerchief to pinch his nose and shelter himself from the stench of dying, rotting fishes "it might not be safe to bring seafood on your table!"

"Bullshit!" the man finally shouted as he turned his back at the graveyard and the men guarding it.

Soon, as more people had converged to the beach, the whole picture became more confused and chaotic.

Fishermen sit in a circle, heads between their hands.

WRO soldiers being given surgical masks.

Children poking dead fishes, before WRO officers gently (at the best of their abilities) chased them away.

And finally Aaron being approached by Kean once again

"I told you" he meekly said "You had to see it with your own eyes"

"You were right" Aaron replied, just as sadly "I can't believe it"

"Some of the fishermen out there say that the currents will probably bring in more dead animals by noon" Kean explained "I don't really know what has caused all this…"

"Me neither…" Aaron whispered

Suddenly an invisible force made every person, regardless of age or position within an organization, turn towards the sea. The force surely could not be seen, but it could be heard.

It felt like a multitude of airships were taking off distantly from the bottom of the sea.

A WRO officer reached for his radio, as he stared towards the horizon

"Did they already sent in the survey vessel to investigate?" he asked to his counterpart at the other end of the wire

"Negative!" the voice cracked back "The survey vessel had to be brought ashore to have some fixing done but…"

Statics interrupted the communication. The WRO soldier frantically pushed the PTT button, hoping to resume the talk.

Meanwhile, the pattern on the sand was slowly changing, as the grains of sand were slowly translating away from the water.

The ground was shaking.

At first it was something unnoticeable. Even the birds feeding off the corpses of dead sea animals did not even took off.

But then the jolts grew in intensity and even the sturdiest palm tree began shaking

"Oh, no!" someone cried, as the quake grew more and more discernible "Not again!"

"Not again what?" Aaron shouted back, as the thundering noise crawled from the sea to just below their feet. Someone was even thrown on the ground as the shock came unexpected and took people by surprise.

Aaron Ruava knew too well that it wouldn't have been over simply with the earthquake waning off. As every respectable man of sea, he knew that a large quake out at sea, so powerful that most of the huts nearly crumbled down to the ground in peaces, meant only one thing.

He ran inland, leaving his beloved fishing rod on the ground behind him. The WRO officers did just the same, vigorously urging everyone to do the same.

He just hoped that the earthquake had woken up his family too. He just hoped he could make it in time.


	17. Corel

COREL

1.

"Is there a chance that we might have opened it ourselves?"

"Opened what? The fault?"

The man who had just asked the first question nodded, waiting for his colleague's response

"It would be one in a million, Brian. You know the readings don't lie!"

Brian Brunswick, chief engineer at the oil extraction plant in Corel, removed his helmet and scratched his head. Something had gone wrong, terribly wrong. He stared at the quarry in front of him, where a giant oil rig stood right in the middle, piercing the rocky bottom of the man-made depression. Other similar man-made depressions could be seen in the distance, surrounded by the sand of the Corel Desert, blinding with the reflection of the afternoon sun, even at kilometres of distance.

Next to him stood his chief-technician, Harry Rosenberg

"Harry" Brian nervously asked "Can you tell me exactly what happened?"

"Again?" Harry's eyes bulged "This is the third time I tell you…"

"Just tell me already!" Brian cut him short, brimming with edginess

"All right" the technician surrendered "The third shift team was boring an exploration tunnel stemming from shaft Z, just below spur tunnel 81…"

He paused, as a line of people clad in bright yellow uniform and all strapped with rattling rescue gears asked for some room to pass by

"And then?" Brian pressed on

"Then our seismographs went off the charts" Harry explained "The whole rig, the whole structure, every beam and nut was shaken from the bottom to the top and we lost contact with the team. Fortunately enough, they were the only squad assigned to work. All, and I mean all of the other personnel in the whole extraction site was on the surface…"

Brian Brunswick pondered on the words of his chief technician. Apparently they were battling against time and the oddly-timed tantrums of the nature to rescue a group of men trapped in a cave under their feet. A cave that should not have collapsed at all but that eventually did so after an earthquake that was not expected to take place

"Do we have their transponders on our tracking devices?" Brian asked again

"No!" Harry impatiently answered "I told you, for some reason we are unable to have them online. Must be the rocks…"

"What about the seismology team?" Brian kept asking "Did they tell you anything new or…?"

Harry sighed as his arms swung down

"Brian, for fuck's sake" the technician yelled "they told me the same thing they told us five minutes ago! We won' t be told anything new until the reading will be sent back from Edge!"

"When?" Brian enquired, eyes stuck to the bottom of the pit before him, where a trail of rescue operators were meddling with the workers crawling from the holes at the bottom of the pit, in an alternation of yellow and orange uniforms along the trail that spiralled downward along the walls of the quarry

"Not before tomorrow, they are all busy dealing with whatsoever emergency up there!" Harry quickly searched his pockets and nervously lit up a cigarette. He had always thought that his boss, Brian, had the dangerous tendency of taking his job seriously. Maybe too much seriously. So seriously that sometimes he thought that Harry regarded his colleagues not so much as colleagues per se, but rather as a family. A bachelor at forty years old and counting, Brian was deeply immersed in his job and had little time to cultivate a family on his own. He was a good person to work under overall, Harry thought, but his attachment to his colleagues in a scenario like this was kind of unhealthy

"Look, Brian" Harry carefully tried to explain "it's not your fault. If the crack opened up suddenly, that was not something we could foresee. We did everything by the book. Nobody is going to hold a grudge against us for that…"

Harry looked like he was not listening. Instead, he kept staring at the bottom of the rig, were the rescue team was amassing materiel and instruments on the lift that would have brought them at the levels below. He even made a few steps towards the edge of the makeshift terrace next to the offices where he usually spent most of his working time at the facility, to have a better look.

Harry felt a strange feeling inside him. He feared that his boss was about to pull out a stunt of his own

"Harry" he finally uttered

Harry raised his head, puffing his cigarette

"I'm going in" Brian finally declared

Harry stood there, shocked. His cigarette fell from the mouth. After a brief moment where he tried to understand what could have pushed Brian to take such decision, he stomped the butt with his boot

"What if I say 'no'?" he tentatively offered

"I wouldn't listen" his boss replied, with a faint smile

"All right then" Harry surrendered "May at least ask you why?"

"Because someone will ask for a report, and I will be the one to write it!" Brian resolutely replied, walking towards the stairs leading to the rescue operations centre "I can't just tell the upper echelons that a conduit collapsed and I don't know why…"

"You already know I'm not coming…" Harry told him

"And in fact I'll ask you to stay here" Brian ordered him, as he grew bolder and bolder as seconds went by, almost as if the thought of taking part to the expedition was igniting him "Tell the rescue team down below to be prepared to have me amidst their ranks. I'll go get geared up!" he said, as he disappeared downstairs

Harry shook his head, marvelling helpless at his boss stubbornness and carelessness, cursing himself not to be able to dissuade him from taking part in an operation where surely he would have been a hindrance rather than a helping hand. But, for better or for worse, things were going the way they were going.

He reached for his portable radio on the waist and adjusted the knob before calling his counterpart at the bottom of the quarry

"Everyone down there, get ready!" he shouted in the microphone "Boss is coming down!"

Brian Brunswick had managed to get the upper hand in the discussion, or better the argument, that ensued after he had announced to Rescue Operations Director Peter Wolf that he meant to be taken down along with the rest of the team.

With a cunning combination of his trademark parlance and subtle diplomacy he had finally managed to get enlisted in the rescue squad, now gathered next to the elevator where Wolf was briefing his team

"This is a standard rescue operation" he announced "so we will descend down the regular path maintaining a straight line. Always look forward at your fellow rescuer and don' t deviate from the course. Nothing worse than getting lost in a mineshaft, understood?"

Everybody nodded, someone more resolutely than someone else.

Brian had been given the standard rescuer equipment, namely the yellow jacket and extra hard duty boots and apparel. He was also given a helmet with a lamplight strapped on it plus a gigantic torch as heavy as a thick concrete brick

"Chief engineer Brunswick will come with us to survey the damage to the tunnels fist-hand. Be ready to offer any kind of assistance at every moment. Have I been clear?"

Another round of nods. Although looking pretty young, Wolf had assured Brian that every member of the team was more than fitted to perform their duties

"I'd say" Wolf had poked at him "that they are fitter than you, Sir…"

"Well, then" Brian crossed his arms "let's see what they can do, then!"

In less than two minutes they were within reach of the level where they were supposed to begin the rescue operations. They were far beyond the reach of the light provided by the sun as it was now replaced by the faint illumination provided by the neon lamps hanged at regular intervals on the walls. The well had been reinforced by horizontal steel beams which also held up the net sheltering the passages around the shaft.

All the miners had been evacuated, as orders were issued by Brian himself. Only some dedicated technician were present, taking note of the damages of the quake. The structure appeared to be stable overall, though.

The elevator gently came to a halt, its embedded beacon still rotating and hurling flashes of yellow light on the rugged surfaces of the caves

"All right" Wolf quietly exclaimed "we're inside, let's get to the collapsed section fast, before another quake comes. We'll have a look at it and then we will come back to pick up the material we need to begin excavations"

"Do we have a line with the surface, Chief?" a rescuer asked

Wolf turned a knob on his radio, fastened to his rescue vest. It tested positively apparently. Brian followed suit with its own

"We do have" Wolf replied "Surface, how do you copy?"

"Loud and clear" a voice erupted from the radio, echoing in the narrow space

"That should do just fine, surface" Wolf nodded "Proceeding to the collapsed section. Over and out!"

The ten-man squad, minus Brian, followed its leader down a conduit

"Harry, come in" Brian spoke in his radio

"How do you copy me, Brian?" Harry replied, at the other end of the line

"Just fine" Brian answered "We're in section Z-1 and making our way to passage 81"

"I see you on the diagram" Harry told him "Too bad we will not be able to follow you down in the collapsed section. Generators and wires must have been damaged by the cave in. We don't have the holographic of that part of the mine"

"Don't worry" Brian reassured him "As long as we'll have the radio we'll be fine"

"Good, we'll guide you if needed" Harry nodded "We are closely monitoring the seismic activity. No aftershocks in sights but should they strike back, rush to the main shaft. It should be safe there!"

"I got it!" Brian said, as the team came to a small opening from which a series of tunnel departed "I'm quitting for now. I'll report back as soon as I'll have news to rely to you. Over"

"They are probably all fine, Brian" Harry tried to foster his colleague's hope before quitting the conversation himself "Over and out!"

At the opening, two miners in their orange suits were having a talk with chief Wolf

"Mister Brunswick" Wolf suddenly turned towards Harry, beckoning him "these two workers were inches away from the team that had been trapped by the collapse

"

"Oh, I'll have a talk with them for sure" he said, approaching them "So, what exactly happened here?"

"We were in section 82 setting up a replacement generator" the oldest of the two miners explained "when we felt the first jolts. At first we thought the boring machine had gone off course…"

"…but then it was clear it was an earthquake" the second miner finished for him

"All right" Brian nodded "and what did you do next?"

"Oh, we simply ran toward the shaft, as they had told us to do during training" the older miner reported

"So you did not feel or hear anything else after the first shock?"

"At all, Sir…" the younger miner replied, shaking his head

"Apparently, all the miners of section Z were accounted for, after they had been gathered for the count," Wolf told Brian "minus the ones working in conduit 81"

"I see…" Brian paused, as he tried to put together the small amount of information he had just collected. But nothing yet. He had to see the damaged section for himself

"All right, you two" he finally exclaimed towards the miners "back to the shaft and off to the surface, if your job here is done"

"It is, Sir" the older one patted his colleague on the shoulder and led him to the elevator, leaving the rescue team alone again

"Nobody else is in here, no?" Wolf asked, as he pointed his torchlight in the direction of a gallery next to a sign that read the number 81

"Apparently not" Brian shook his head "Shall we proceed?"

"Come on!" Wolf waived his arm towards the gallery as his team entered the passage. The lights were out, maybe because the electricity wires had been severed downstream. Everyone lit up their torches, even Brian.

The tunnel had a smooth surface and a regular contour, thanks to the boring machines used by the miners which were purposefully designed not to crack the earth which they were excavating. This turned the whole accident even more mysterious as Brian's mind raced to find a solution to what might have caused the quake and the ensuing collapse

"Woah!" a sudden shriek from Chief Wolf brought him back to reality

"What's happening?" a team member asked, as he nervously scoped the surroundings with his torchlight

"This is not your normal collapse!" Wolf exclaimed in an alarmed tone. Brian rushed to the head of the formation to see what had alarmed the leader of the expedition so much.

He pointed the torchlight in front of him. It took a while before Brian could realize that they were not in front of a collapsed passage.

The entire end of Conduit 81 had disappeared, along with a huge chunk of ground around it.

The gallery was in fact opening into a subterranean cave, as the beam of the torchlight revealed. Someone cracked a glow stick and threw it into the cave, disappearing in the depth of that abyss. Brian stood there, shocked at the realization that whoever might have been around that place had probably gone away with what stood there before in place of that hole

"This is isn't a collapse at all!" Brian murmured, coming to term with the realization "The ground here sank to the bottom…" he observed, his eyes relentlessly racing right and left along with the circle of his flashlight

"The bottom of what?" Wolf curiously asked him "There's nothing else beneath our feet!"

Brian ignored the chief's remark and grabbed his radio to speak up to his chief technician

"Harry, do you read me?" he asked "We have a big problem down here…"

"Speak up" Harry pressed him

"We have a cave-in here, not a collapse" he explained "A chunk of ground as big as a skyscraper has gone!"

"What do you mean? What do you mean 'as big as a skyscraper'?" Harry enquired, visibly alarmed

"There are at least ten levels of rock missing here" he tried to explain, releasing the PTT button and pressing it alternatively, producing small bursts of static echoing in the cave "Passage 81 leads to a recently formed cave made by the quake!"

He waited for a reply. A reply that was coming too late

"Harry, are you still there?"

Static

"Harry?"

Static. Brian clicked his tongue in frustration. He was just about to press the PTT button again when Harry anticipated his move

"Brian, get the hell out of there!" Harry came in, calmly but alarmed "We've got a swarm of aftershocks incoming…"

Chief Wolf was on the same frequency. He turned towards Harry, as alarmed as the latter. The leader of the rescue team put his whistle in his mouth and blew in it, alerting everyone

"Let's get out of here, fast!" he shouted "Incoming shock!"

As they prepared to run away from there, something caught Brian's attention. The earth was about to start to vibrate but the thing that lied at the bottom of the cave surely was something worth beholding.

The dark surroundings began to shine with a light emanating from below, a light that seemed to be white at first.

But as the ground shook more violently, the pale light surging from below turned into a greenish, roaring goo, raising violently like a geyser

"The hell are you waiting for?" Chief Wolfe shouted at the address of Brian Brunswick, who could not take his eyes off the surge of Mako coming in right through the pit.

Mako had been previously extracted in Corel, a long time ago. But the source had been depleted quite rapidly. And therefore Mako had traded places with oil.

This was something Brian Brunswick knew for sure.

Then why Mako had appeared again in Corel after all this time?

He could not give himself an answer.

Anyway, it would have not made any difference.

Less than thirty seconds later, after all communications were lost between the rescue team and the surface, the whole rig exploded, thankfully sparing the immediate surroundings due to the funnel-like design main well.

Unfortunately, many more rigs faced the same fate as the one where Brian Brunswick and Peter Wolf had descended.


	18. Shera (IV)

_SHERA (IV)_

1.

Yuffie was standing in silence in the cafeteria.

Honestly, it wasn't a cafeteria properly: Cid had exploited a small space in the common area of the crew quarters of the ship by setting up some drywall panels. He had also managed to carve a door in one of them. And a fully functional one, with a full set hinges and a knob.

Certainly Cid, if something was missing, he made it himself, without clearly waiting for someone to drop it from the sky, just as Yuffie thought, as she leant against a desk where a coffee heather stood, next to a tin flask containing what was probably tea. Yuffie did not care to check. She poured herself some reheated coffee in a tiny plastic cup taken from a pile on the impressively clean table, sweetening it with one of the countless sticks of sugar grabbed from a bowl.

She was gently making the dark broth in her cup swirl, as she could not find anything to stir it and she was still too squeamish to dip her fingers in it.

She found an unexpected source of solace and relaxation by concentrating on the small bubbles that were surfacing on the black coffee. And in an instant, eyes closed, she was lining up in her mind everything that had happened so far.

Reeve calling her out to a new adventure to save Gaia.

Her first encounter with Cade.

Her first encounter with Kayla.

The mission in the Northern Crater.

The awakening in the hospital.

The news that Reeve had been framed and that the WRO was at the moment run by the same imposters that had framed Reeve, Cade and herself.

The chase down the sewers of Kalm and Kayla that, God bless her, had decided to help them out even if she was dead.

She slowly shook her head upon that last thought. So many things had happened in such a short amount of time. And they had taken away so much as well, or at least they almost did: Kayla had been treacherously killed and Yuffie had nearly lost her life as well, if it wasn't for Cade…

Cade. Yuffie paused as she suddenly realized she needed to go and check on him.

She gulped down the entire cup of coffee, without minding the fact that it was still hot, yet tasteless. She threw the paper cup in the bin on the corner and made it for the door, when she bumped into Corporal Elena Biggs.

"Whops! I'm sorry Miss Kissaragi" the corporal apologized, as she froze inches from the ninja. She then stood aside, making a gesture with her arm "There you go" she gently said "I beg you pardon again!"

"You are… Laura, right?" Yuffie enquired as she firmly stood on the threshold, slightly pointing her finger at the girl before her, squinting her eyes as she tried to recall the corporal's first name,

Corporal Biggs blushed. As far as she was concerned, and as far as the dossiers they had all read, Yuffie Kissaragi was still a Warrant Officer of the WRO, a pay-grade a bit higher than hers. Not to mention the fact she was a princess too. So the warm and outreaching reaction the ninja had showed her in response to her own blunder put the corporal off the map for a while

"Hey" Yuffie bent over to see if Biggs was showing signs of life, snapping her fingers "are you with us, Laura?"

"I'm sorry, m'am…" Biggs shook her head "I was in the way and… I swear I'll be gone in a second" she was stiffening and blushing even more, just like a child who had just pled guilty to a mischief and was waiting for punishment to come. Or to come up with an explanation

"Calm down" Yuffie laughed "Do you really think someone like me would blast someone just because we crossed paths?"

Biggs sighed, with a great display of relief "That was close…" she puffed "I'm sorry, M'am…"

"That's Yuffie for you!" Yuffie instructed her, with a smile on his face and her index sternly pointing towards Biggs again

"Oh… well in that case, m'am… I mean, Yuffie! Name is Elena, by the way" she nodded while correcting both Yuffie and herself once more

"Oh, right. Elena. Were you heading for some coffee?" Yuffie smiled

"Right that" Biggs nodded, embarrassment gone form her face "We have checked and re-checked our gear countless times. It was the first time we had used it into an actual… battle, so we had to make sure they were still operational. It's pretty cold in the gulley so…"

"You did good back there" the ninja observed, as she passed her the coffee heather "I've never really heard about the SISF but surely you are though as hell, guys!" she complimented

"Oh, thank you!" Biggs smiled "We are all pretty new in the trade to be honest. The formation process of the SISF began just after the end of the Deepground conflict. I took part in the assault at the Midgar Ruins along with Sergeant Perkins…"

"I was there too!" Yuffie remembered "Look at you: we have already been comrades and we did not even knew that"

"And then-Warrant Officer Farron was leading our squad" Biggs added enthusiastically "It was a hell of a battle that one. Perkins nearly bite the dust that time…" she nervously chuckled.

"Something wrong?" Yuffie questioned, as she immediately noticed the shift in Biggs mood, as the corporal's face was briefly shadowed by a cloud of sadness

"Sorry" Biggs shook her head "something pretty… scary came back to my mind"

"Is it because of Perkins?" Yuffie asked, coyly

A heavy breath came from Biggs. She raised her head "I guess Lieutenant Farron already told you?" she nervously chuckled again

"Yep" Yuffie nodded "She did!"

Biggs scratched the back of his neck

"How did it happen?" Yuffie pressed "I mean, sorry that is not really my business, but… you know, I'm just curious!"

"No worries at all" Laura joyfully shook her head, her loose, long hazelnut hair trailing behind "I would be the same. I like to gossip too. They say it makes you live longer…"

"We surely need some gossiping then!" Yuffie caustically remarked, with a nervous smile

"I think you're right" Elena smiled back, just as tensely

"Anyway" she began "We were on the same platoon the day the WRO launched the attack on Midgar. Our squad was separated from the others as we landed though, and we could not link up with the main contingent"

She coughed, as she resumed with the narration "Perkins was my squad leader. We were the only survivors after an ambush had wiped out our entire platoon. We managed to reach a safe location and fend off most of the assault from the Deepground forces. I had broken a leg in the process, because of a grenade and Perkins was badly wounded. Yet he did not give up for an instant" she paused "He literally saved my life. I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for him"

Yuffie carefully listened to Elena's account.

"Don't take it as an offense" the ninja tentatively enquired, picking up from where Elena had just paused "but when the lieutenant dropped the news I was pretty surprised that you two were… together"

Elena laughed out loud "Yes, it happens all the time" she said "You should have seen my parent's face when I first invited Tom at my place. Anyway no offences taken, don't worry!"

"Well, I'm just curious" Yuffie reiterated

"Look, Yuffie" Elena calmly resumed, as she chased away the last bits of laughter "Tom, that is Sergeant Perkins, may seem the stereotypical macho guy, the jock who acts in defiance to everything and everyone, but this is just a put-on for when others people are around him. He is the most caring and dearest guy in the world, at least to me. It took me nearly losing him out there in Midgar to realize that… Beside there are still some things that would make him crap in his pants, believe me!"

Yuffie slightly tilted her head "You were together even before joining the WRO, weren't you?"

"More or less" Elena replied "We were two kids who were too afraid to disclose to each other despite having grown pretty much together. It's pretty cliché, nothing really special…"

"I see…" Yuffie whispered, with almost an absently-minded appearance on her face. A dangerous thought was floating around her mind. She decided not to pay attention to it, to bury it where it would not have surfaced again any more

"What about you and Cade?" Elena innocently asked, without realizing that she was touching a nerve. Yuffie's eyes bulged. Now it was her turn to turn ruddy

"What?" she hurriedly replied "What do you mean?"

"I'm sorry" Elena frowned "But Lieutenant Farron was constantly talking about the fact that she thought that there was… that there must be something between you and him…"

"Does she really think so?" Yuffie asked, although she already knew that. Sarah had had the frankness of directly asking Yuffie and Cade that question before

"Apparently…" Elena continued "Look, if it's something sensitive, I'll call it a day with gossiping" she smiled, trying to defuse a potentially embarrassing situation

"I don't know…" Yuffie replied, immediately. She quickly realized that short answer was too ambiguous, so she rushed to correct herself "…I mean: no. Absolutely nothing. At all" she vigorously shook her head "We're just friends. Dear friends, but still friends" she conceded

"Ah, so that's it" Elena nodded "Too bad. You looked good together! You really would be a nice couple!"

Yuffie could not understand why Elena was acting like that. Was she genuinely curious, honestly building fantasies of maybe she was doing an awkward work of intelligence gathering on behalf of someone else?

"Sorry, Elena" Yuffie resolutely yet calmly asked "What makes you think so?"

"By the way he was acting towards you" Elena explained. Yuffie almost fell into astonishment. She was so caught up by the task she had at hand that she did not notice that Cade (who she had presumed being focused on the assignment just as she was) had acted in a certain way towards her. Or maybe he did?

A doubt was setting roots in her mind. A doubt she could not dare to think of. A doubt which was embodied at best by the vision of Cade laying motionless to the hospital bed in Gongaga, strapped to the machines that momentarily kept him in a coma. A doubt that came in the form of words she had distinctively heard when he woke up

… _when you came into this room for the first time, when you where alone with me, I could hear you_

 _Why do you think I woke up?_

'Please don't' she begged.

She focused back on the corporal, standing before her with a quizzical expression on her face

"Did I say something wrong?" she asked

"No, no!" Yuffie quickly replied "You surely are a quick observer. We stuck together just for a few minutes down in Kalm and yet…"

"They were enough to notice Cade not taking his eyes off you" she pressed "Sorry if I call him by his name but he has given us the impression of being someone pretty at hand…"

"He is, indeed" Yuffie quickly confirmed the corporal's guess "He definitely hates etiquette and staff…"

"But Lieutenant Farron has great admiration for him" Laura continued "And not just because he is the nephew of Director Tuesti…"

Yuffie surprisingly felt a sting of jealousy on her hip. She resolved herself to enquire

"What do you mean?" the ninja asked

"Well, she likes the way Cade leads his troop in the theatre" Elena illustrated "He's dedicated and result-oriented. A bit of a daredevil but I bet everyone feels safe around him. He's got the aura of the guy who comes away with nothing but scratches…"

Yuffie produced a lopsided grin. Scratches were just the wounds on the outside. So to speak…

"… but this is all but new to you, right?" Elena concluded, with a coy smile

"Ahem, corporal Biggs" Yuffie cleared his voice "Being sassy won't help you make a career in the WRO. Not under my command!" she sternly pronounced these words, catching Elena off-guard.

The corporal paled

"I'm joking" Yuffie smiled again "But, yes. You are right"

"Good. Then I think I'll get my well deserved coffee then…"

"Of course" Yuffie let her pass, in a reversal of the roles they had taken when they had initially bumped in each other

"Enjoy your coffee. Oh, by the way, how's Lieutenant Farron?" she asked, as she stepped outside the door

"Sarah is fine" Elena replied, pouring the reheated coffee in her cup "She was already yelling orders by the time she had been cleared form the infirmary. She's fine, I'll guarantee it!"

"I'm happy to know that" Yuffie nodded "Thank you, Elena. I really enjoyed talking with you!"

"Anytime, Yuffie" Elena waived at her with her free hand.

As she took the passage towards the crew's cabins, Yuffie could not get out of her mind the fact that she had to go and check Cade out.

Yuffie finally reached Cade's room. The Shera was not the gigantic airship she thought it was, at first, and it did not take her much to get to where she wanted.

She found herself in front of a steel door, rusty and kept closed by a bar leaning on a hook fixed to the jamb. She closed the gap between herself and the passage, as her heart had began to beat inexplicably faster.

Her knocks beat on the cold, steely surface three times

"Cade?" she called him. She got no answer.

For an instant she thought that maybe Cade was already sound asleep. She somehow convinced herself of that and she turned to walk away. No pint in disturbing him, then. A rested Cade would probably get up looking way better than she last saw him, all tensed, jumpy and with a downbeat, sad grimace.

"Yuffie? Is that you?" a muffled voiced suddenly came from behind the door

"Cade?" Yuffie leapt in front of the hatch "Are you all right?"

Strangely enough, silence fell in the quarters again, much to Yuffie's apprehension

"Come in!" Cade finally said from behind the door "The lock is open!"

Although something strange was in his voice, Yuffie thought that it was due to the heavy walls separating them and the fact that he was tired and maybe already sleeping or at least laying on the bed in some sort of strange position cramping his throat. She sighed in relief as she finally got clearance to enter Cade's compartment. She lifted the bar with both hands and she slowly swung the squeaking door open.

The room was as big as the comfiest cell an inmate could have the luck to be locked in on Gaia. a bunk stood opposite to it with a toilet and a sink on the corner at the feet of the bed.

There, was Cade.

He was sitting on the edge of the bed, still wearing his trousers and boots. He was naked from the chest belly upwards, with his arms extended out. She could not see him on the face as his head was bowed down as his gaze was fixed at something on the floor between his feet.

Yuffie stood momentarily petrified, as she closed the door behind her: the bandages and gauzes covering the staple-closed wounds on his arms had fallen down on the floor, all soaked in blood and a yellowish substance that was probably the result of the onset of an infection. He had probably tried to change the binds, check his wounds and dress them again but something had caught him in the meantime and he was standing there, halfway through the operation. The wounds had suppurated, maybe because of the stress of fighting, and they had poured out that mixture of blood and pus that had visibly stained the swaths laying at his feet.

Yuffie carefully approached him

"Hi there, Yuffie" Cade murmured, in a broken voice, head still bent forward "Nice of you to drop for a visit" he said, nervily chuckling at the very end of that line

Yuffie knelt before him, avoiding the dresses at his feet and gently placing her hand under his chin, feeling the stingy mat of his short yet unkempt beard on her fingers.

Cade's face was sanguine and sticky with tears, now that she had lifted it. His green eyes, now meeting Yuffie's ones, were gleaming and watery but devoid of their usual sparkle of confidence and vitality

"Cade" Yuffie squeaked, battling with the tears building behind her eyes "Cade, what's happening? What's wrong?"

Cade snorted, squinting his eyes as apparently he could not bend his arms and needed to wipe away the tears in his eyes. Yuffie put his face between her hands and gently caressed his cheeks with her thumbs

"Cade" she gently invited him "tell me what's happening! Please, whatever it is I'm here…" She suddenly found extremely difficult to look at this version of Cade, so far from the Cade that used to teas her, play jokes on her and drive her in and out the battle safe and sound by her side.

"Cade" again, Yuffie forced herself to face the demon of despair, pain and sorrow residing in the body of the man before him, angrily dealing with the urge of getting an answer, even resorting to beat the heck out of him if necessary

"Please! I perfectly know what's happening, but please tell me yourself…" she cried

"What's wrong with me?" Cade mustered a flicker of inner strength and finally the words came from his mouth. Yuffie grew a confused expression

"What do you mean, Cade?"

"I don't know" he replied, with a feeble voice "I think I killed her twice…"

"Are you talking about Kayla?"

"I killed her when I let her go down that goddamn place all alone…" he explained "… but I already killed her when I shunned her away from me. And just because… ah, damn it!"

He managed to finally vent his lividness before he started sobbing quietly again. Yuffie sympathetically hugged him

"I know Cade, I know" Yuffie murmured in his ear, as she burrowed in his neck, letting a tear running down her left eye "I understand what you feel. At least, I try…"

"Sorry" Cade uttered between the tears "I think I snapped this time. I really had to let it out. I know there was nothing I could do. But still… Ah, if this world ends it won't be that bad! At least that's the only way we will be able to enjoy some peace!" he confessed, as Yuffie, separating from him, searched a bag he had previously drawn next to him. Her hand resurfaced with a handkerchief. It was indeed a lucky dip in a bag she ignored the content of

"Come on" she gently wiped his eyes with the help of the hankie "One step at a time, they say. Where you trying to change your bandages, weren't you?" she asked, pointing at his arms

He nodded "I tried" he said "but I realized only halfway they hurt as hell… Too much for me to do it by myself"

"Let me help you" Yuffie offered, putting the bag next to her on her lap "I've tended to wounds worse than that…"

"Are you making fool of me, by chance?" Cade abruptly asked

Yuffie stood still for a while. She smiled, then laughed, as soon as she realized Cade was only teasing her again. Thankfully he had reverted, or was slowly starting to return to his usual demeanour. The one Yuffie liked better

"I didn't mean to ridicule your pain threshold…" she said, as she unfolded a squared drape and slid it between Cade's legs and arms "This will sting a bit I think" she warned him as she poured the peroxide over his wounds. Cade's face wrinkled and an hiss escaped from his sealed lips

"I told you…" Yuffie laughed

"It's just an itch…" Cade scoffed

"As I told you, you don't have to play the hero while you're with me. I perfectly know what you are capable of… Beside, how do I know this stuff is going to work if you can't tell me if it stings?"

"I somehow doubt that…" Cade chuckled as Yuffie dabbed the wounds with a swab

"Doubt what?"

Cade gave her a mischievous look

"Is that a threat?" Yuffie chuckled, as she finally understood his cue

"No" he faintly smiled "an invitation to explore the unknown" he said, grinning

"Listen Cade" Yuffie grew serious, after that brief comical parenthesis, while she slowly swept the trenches in his arms, dodging the staples bringing the edges of the cuts together and sweeping away the foam rising from the wounds "I know why you would like to quit all the bullshit about preventing the world from exploding or being devastated or all that nonsense about fighting the bad guys who will alter eventually resurface only in a different shape. Is it because of what you've gone through, right?" she stopped poking at the wounds, now pouring a reddish sterilizing solution on them. Cade twitched as the crimson substance made contact with his skin

"You lost this, you lost that, you did not have a single moment where you could simply lay to rest, along with the people you loved and then all of a sudden the world looks like the ugliest place in the universe. Am I right?"

Cade sighed "I think so…" he muttered "It's pretty much like you say" he admitted

"Look, back in Wutai things are in such a mess I hardly want to step on the throne and reign over the rotten cake that is my hometown. That's why I always wanted to spend as much time as I can away from that place… and from my father!" she frowned upon thinking about old Godo Kissaragi, but at the same time getting caught by a touch of homesickness

"But eventually, I will take on my duty as heir to the ruler of Wutai because I still think I'll be able to do something. I believe in myself and in the power of the people who are willing to fight for a better place. I still have to figure out how, but I'll do something. Sure enough I'll do! I'll raise and face the demons. One by one…"

She stretched out a strip of gauze and started wrapping it around his right arm

"And I think that deep inside your heart" she continued "You will find the will to fight again. The same will that made you carry on after you lost your parents, the same will that helped you get through while you were in the Shinra Infantry Corps…"

Cade's eyebrows arched upon the Yuffie unearthing that part of his past

"… the same will that made you carry my nearly-lifeless body though a snowstorm with nothing but a fleece sweater on" she uttered, clamorously repressing a sob and suddenly growing more dramatic, as her hands gently shook "The same will that woke you up in the hospital. Just think about every beautiful thing you stumbled upon in your life. Even the smallest of it makes a life like yours worth living and fighting for!" she finally said, almost crying it out loud, just in time to cut the last piece of gauze and fastening it because she was finally unable to hold herself and the tears finally ran freely out of her eyes as she wept.

Thankfully, with the bandages and the dressing in their place, now Cade was finally able to move his arms and to hug Yuffie, who reciprocated his sign of affection

"Think about Kayla" she managed to say above her sobs "Think about all the things she wanted to do and how she helped us even now that she's not with us anymore! The world can't be a bad place if there are beings like hers…"

They separated. Yuffie noticed with a strange sense of relief that Cade had wept along with her

"I'm sorry" she apologized "I needed a good cry myself"

Cade laughed "You don't even have to ask" he shook his head "Not after you did this" he said, showing the bandages on his arms

"Do you still think about her, right?" Yuffie asked, sweeping her cheeks with the back of her hand

"I do, surely I do" Cade nodded "Sometimes I'm even afraid I will fall asleep"

"Why?"

"Because I don't want her to appear in my dreams" he explained "and I don't want to relive that scene again. But I guess I'll have to move on. That's what she would have wanted"

"She will always love you" Yuffie put a hand on his bare shoulder "You meant her no harm by putting that distance between you and her. You were just afraid of losing someone else"

"The people who love me have the bad habit of disappearing…"

Yuffie frowned upon his remark

"Don't even think about something like that" she sternly replied "This is the first and last time I hear something like that from your mouth!"

Cade was startled by that sudden and feisty reply

"I'm sorry" he apologized "I have the bad habit of talking too fast…"

"I pardon you" Yuffie told him, caressing his head with a smile on his face

"Thanks again Yuffie" he said, after a brief pause, putting his hand over Yuffie's own on his shoulder "Maybe I haven't told it you as clearly as I wanted to but thanks for… existing basically"

Yuffie chuckled "Don't worry" her hand translate from the shoulder to the root of his neck "I plan to stay around as much as I can!"

"Well, I'm glad you are, then!" he smiled

Yuffie smiled back, caressing his cheeks. Suddenly her eyes turned inquisitory "How long it's been since you last shaved yourself?" she asked.

Cade was caught by surprise "What do you mean?"

"You shouldn't have such an unkempt beard" Yuffie explained "It's all messy and impractical!"

"Do you really want me to shave?"

Yuffie shook his head "I'll do it!"

Cade's eyes bulged "You?" he repeated, incredulously

"I don't want water to ripple on your freshly-laid bandages" Yuffie explained "And I really think that maybe taking care of yourself could help you feel better…"

Half of the things Yuffie said made sense to him, but it was maybe only because he was tired. He yawned

"Are you sure you know how to do it?" he tentatively enquired

"My dad used to come back from martial arts tournament all beaten up sometimes" Yuffie told him "Who do you think was in charge of taking care of him while he recovered, with mom already in the Lifestream? That goes for the bandages as well…" the ninja winked. Without loosing a beat, her eyes were already scanning the surrounding "Where do you keep your razors and stuff? Oh, I bet they're right here…" she guessed, as he made a dash towards a black bag were Cade, amongst other things, actually kept his razors

"A-ha, what did I tell you?" the ninja triumphantly exclaimed as she produced a transparent pouch with a tube of shaving cream inside it, along with a couple of shaving blades.

Cade smiled at the found-again enthusiasm of the princess of Wutai. It was true: getting his beard shaved was already making him feel better.

Moments later was sitting on the mattress with his bare back against the cold steel wall of the room and Yuffie before him, scooping the shave cream with razor, carefully sliding the blades on his skin, pouring water to wash away the remnant cream after clearing a piece of skin

"Well, whoever taught you, he or she did a good job!" he commented

"Thanks" she smiled

"Admit it" he mischievously told her "you are having fun at this!"

Yuffie laughed "Maybe we should do it more often…"

"Yeah, why not" he said "I'm going to fly to Wutai every time I need a cut. Expensive, time-consuming but well worth the effort!"

Yuffie laughed again, spilling some water on his chest as she was pouring it on his face. She had insisted on doing that thing on the bed, ransacking all the towels she could find around the room and strategically placing them on the mattress to prevent water from wetting it.

She took one of them and passed it on Cade's chest. It was the first time she had the chance to take a look at him naked, at least for the upper part of the body. Her eyes gazed upon his toned body, with scars scattered here and there. She did not feel ashamed of it at all. On the other hand, she felt quite attracted by the sight.

"Hey, are you all right?" Cade woke her up from her frozen state. She immediately blushed, feeling caught red-handed

"Oh, yes" she uttered "I'm all right. Let me just finish this…" she hurriedly brushed Cade's naked chest with the towel and proceeded to shave the remaining skin

"And that's it!" she said, as she gave the last, gentle stroke

"Being shaved by a woman: ticked off" Cade made a gesture in the air

"Did you really had it in your bucket list?"

"I added it while you were doing your job…" he replied, making  
Yuffie laugh again

"Yuffie…" Cade suddenly said, looking at her " Sorry if you heard me talking like that before…" he apologized

"Nonsense" she shook her head "Don't feel bad just because a bad thought crosses your mind every now and then. You're… we're not made of steel" she said, pointing at the scars on his chiselled body

'Chiselled? Come on Yuffie…' a voice spoke inside her mind again 'I'm beginning to think you are starting to like him…'

'No way!' the same voice angrily countered

'Well, then give me a reason not to like him… I'll wait here!'

She focused back on the here and now only to find Cade staring at her with an addled expression

"Do you mind if I ask you again if you are all right?" he politely enquired

"Of course" she yawned, stretching her arms out wide "I'm tired too, I'd better crash my bunk soon"

"Well, have a good nap then" Cade told her, as he grabbed the brim of his bed sheets "See you later!"

Yuffie turned to the door, when a invisible force grasped her heart so vigorously she stopped even before making a single step. A warmth feeling was rising from the very centre of her body, making her temporarily wobble.

The words she told him, she would have never swore she meant them, but they happened to be spoken, nonetheless

"To be honest" she said, lowering her eyes and letting anxiety, nervousness and sheer panic get a hold of her legs "I could use some company" she confessed.

Cade frowned, as he was just about to cover himself

"I… just don't want to be alone" she added, turning back towards Cade "That's it!"

"So" Cade tentatively asked "Do you want… to sleep together?"

"On the same bed" she corrected "I mean… if it's not bothering you…"

"Not at all… I mean…" the strange feeling that had caught Yuffie was now spreading to Cade as well, who found himself negotiating a very awkward situation "…Why not?" he finally asked

"Ok, then…" Yuffie timidly replied

"Do you want me to sleep on the floor?" Cade offered

"No, no" Yuffie waived her hands "I don't mind sharing the bunk with you…"

"Do you want some… cover?" Cade offered a corner of his sheet to her

"Don't worry" Yuffie shook her head "I'll just keep my stuff on" she explained, patting on her dress

"I see" Cade nodded, as he retreated next to the wall to clear her a sizable portion of the bed "Then take a… seat" he patted on the mattress next to him. Yuffie accepted his invitation and sat on the bed before laying on her side, back against Cade's own back

It seemed like they had fallen asleep almost instantly but then Cade broke the silence

"Yuffie?"

"Hmm?"

"You will do a great job as the ruler of Wutai"

"What does it make you think so?"

"If you'll treat your land just like you treated me…"

"Oh" Yuffie gulped, incredibly flattened by the remark "Thank you!"

Again, silence fell. Again it seemed like they had taken shelter in the arms of Morpheus.

Yuffie broke the silence, though

"Cade?"

"Hmm?"

"You said thank you to me for existing" she said "But the same goes for you…" she said, her words veiled by the tiredness

"I see" he replied, just as flattened as Yuffie had been flattened by his previous remark "Thank you. I'll try to stick around as much as I can as well" he smiled.

Yuffie smiled too "Now get some sleep, ok?"

"Sure"

This time they fell asleep once and for all.

And Cade had one of the best slumber of his life.

2.

"This better not be a joke!"

"In fact it isn't!" Ruding replied, tipped off , still waiving his hand towards the WRO major "Why it should be?"

Evan rushed to Ruding's workstation, abruptly quitting a conversation he was having with a couple of intelligence officers at the other side of the deck

"I don't know" he said "but you IT guys have a penchant for playing tricks…"

"Well, I'm either playing the most elaborate joke I've ever conceived, or the WRO is doing that on my behalf" he explained, tapping on the computer screen with his pen

"What is that?" Evan asked, holding his breath. He hoped it was what they had been looking for days

"A document testifying the consignment of former Director Reeve Tuesti in the hands of the personnel managing the Correctional Facility of Junon" Ruding triumphantly exclaimed, fists in the air and with a bloated chest "We did it!"

Evan stood in front of the monitor, clinching his fist in exultation, albeit more moderately and under the desk. He patted Ruding on his shoulders with both hands, then he leant over to take a second look to the document showed on the computer screen

"The order of putting Reeve inside the jail in Junon has been signed two days ago" he observed "What if he's not there anymore? Maybe Junon was meant just as a temporary placement…"

"Maybe we can check the cell registers" Ruding proposed "The prison in Junon has been hardly used since it was established after the Meteorfall. If we can't find his name we can still find if the same cell that is indicated on the paper is still occupied…"

"Well, then take out that 'maybe' from the sentence and do it now!" Evan urged him, as he turned to go to the crew quarters and alert Lieutenant Farron of the development. She anticipated him, though

"Hey, what's with all the excitement here? Is it someone's birthday party?" the red-haired lieutenant stood there, appearing at the entrance of the main flight deck, in her everyday uniform

"Lieutenant, we have found Director Tuesti" Evan solemnly announced

"I did!" Ruding bitterly corrected him from his own station. Evan scoffed at him

"Regardless of the paternity of the discovery" he told Farron "get your team prepared for the briefing. We have a new assignment on our hands…"

"Where, if I may ask?" she asked

"Junon"

A satisfied expression appeared on Sarah's face

"A seaside town is right what I need after a mission in a shithole" she nodded, smiling "I'll get the boys ready in no time" she said, as she rushed downstairs.

In the section of the ship where the bunk stood, a series of bumps on the hatches made everyone stand up and check the source of that disturbance. Lieutenant Farron was knocking on every cell, regardless of the fact that they had been actually assigned to someone or not, confiding in the preparedness of her subordinates, whom she expected to be ready in less than a minute, as she was shouting on top of her lungs.

She banged her fist on the door of Cade's bunk as well, only to walk by and proceeding to beat up the next hatch. The sudden blow at the door had been preceded by the lieutenant almost menacing cry which had resonated through the corridors.

Yuffie was a bit more alert as her sleep was not as sound as the man who lied right next to her in bed. She opened her eyes and briefly stood there, as her eyes began to adapt at the dim light of the room. She turned towards what she felt was a bulky encumbrance on the bed where she had just slept.

The point is she immediately remembered she had slept with Cade. And the bulky encumbrance was him actually.

In other circumstances, she would have panicked. She would have tried to recollect how many bottles of alcohol she had drunk the previous night and whatnot. But then, the scene became immediately clear.

She had actually offered to spend the night with him.

Why on Gaia, then?

The voice of Lieutenant Farron, who was doing a second passage through the crew quarters to spur everyone to appear in the briefing room in a matter of seconds wake her up for good.

A whistle of relief came from her mouth as she noticed she was still dressed. She rushed back to the bed, energetically caressing Cade's back through the sheet

"Cade" she whispered right into his ear "Wake up! Something is going on…"

"Hmm" he protested "Give me five more minutes…"

"I'd give you all the time in the world" she shook her head "But it's not up to me"

Cade opened his eyes "Is that Lieutenant Farron?" he asked, as the voice of Sarah finally reached his eardrums

"Yes, apparently" Yuffie confirmed "Something is brewing, I bet!"

Cade suddenly sprung up, his head scanning right and left looking for something to put on, when at some point he stood still

"Wait a second" he said "I slept last night"

Yuffie nodded with a quizzical expression

"I slept… with you" he added, nervously

"Well…" Yuffie blushed, as she was not really feeling comfortable with that situation as well.

An embarrassing silence ensued, interrupted only by the thumps and the muffled noises coming from the other crew compartments. It was all new to Yuffie, waking up next to a man with whom she had just shared a bed. Thankfully, she was one-hundred percent sober otherwise she would have banged her head on the wall in self-loathing and desperation.

Cade was uneasy too. It had been ages since he last went through something like this. Plus the circumstances, it was a pretty awkward situation

"Listen" Yuffie broke the stillness "We'll talk about it later… Now get dressed" she hurriedly told him

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine" she answered, badly concealing her nervousness. She was now giving her back to Cade, arms crossed "Hurry up!"

"Look" Cade stood up "There's nothing to be ashamed of. Nothing really happened… between us!"

Yuffie bit her lip "I know" she bitterly replied

Cade grew a confused expression at Yuffie sudden mood swing. She had suddenly turned indecipherable all at once. He tried to walk around her so to speak to her in her face

"And, to ne honest, you were the one who asked for it…" he pointed out

"WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?" Yuffie spun on herself, throwing an angry gaze at him

Cade backed down "Whoa, sorry!" he apologized, as he donned a white shirt "I… haven't expressed myself correctly!"

"Look, just cover yourself up and pray nobody has seen us getting out from the same room" she sharply cut the conversation

Cade sighed. He walked up to her, standing inches away behind her back

"Yuffie" he calmly told her "Why are you acting so weird? Nothing happened, I swear. You paid me a visit …yesterday afternoon" he paused to check his wristwatch. Indeed they had spent a whole night in bed. Good for them

"You and I had a talk, and that was the most intimate thing that happened between us. Just that. A simple talk… a talk I needed like a starving man need some food"

Yuffie let her arms fall down, as her head bowed down with a sigh

"I know what happened last night, or afternoon, whatever time it was" she explained, the anger in her voice gone away and replaced by a mixture of anxiety and despair "it's just I've never woke up next to a man!"

Cade arched his eyebrows. So it was all just that. Inexperience.

He had to suppress a laughter. That it was not meant to scorn her but it was just a spontaneous reaction that could be misunderstood

"I'm sorry" he shook his head smiling, as Yuffie finally turned to him, with the expression of a puppy who had gotten lost in a crowded place "I'm terrible at these things!"

"Who are you kidding?" Yuffie retorted "Look at you: smart, funny and handsome. I bet I'm the thousandth girl who wakes up next to him…"

"Why do you think so?"

"I…" Yuffie paused as she realized she had just spoken without any kind of regard "Sorry! I spoke without connecting my brain!" she begged pardon, with a beaten expression

Cade stepped forward and hugged her. Yuffie jolted upon feeling the assuring and warm presence of Cade all around her, but soon she grew fond of that sensation. She found herself hugging him a well

"You've been very dear yesterday" he sincerely told her "Thank you!"

"Was it really yesterday?" she asked, still intentionally buried in his arms

"Well" Cade let go of the hug "my watch doesn't lie"

"Geez, I'm losing the sense of time here" she puffed

"Same for me" Cade nodded "Now let's move, We're probably already late for whatever is happening out there…"

"Right" she agreed, as she walked outside the door

"What about all that stuff about us not being seen together?" Cade asked

"Fuck them all" Yuffie theatrically scoffed "I'm Yuffie Kissaragi. Princess of Wutai and Ninja Warrior. I share my bed with whoever I want…" she said, as she waited for him just outside the door.

Cade laughed at these words, letting him fall back on the mattress once again, his heart indeed filled once again with the desire of facing the enemy head on, regardless of the situation.

That, and the will to protect Yuffie at all costs.

3.

The atmosphere inside the briefing room was hectic.

Evan was shuttling from the room to the main deck as he wanted to regularly check if updates had appeared while he waited for the places around the table to fill up. At the same time, intelligence specialists were leaving sheets of papers on the table before rushing back to their stations, The papers were printed with details about Reeve Tuesti's last known movements and location, plus blueprints and schemes of the surroundings of Junon and its prison, where he was supposed to be held.

The whole SISF team had finally arrived. Everyone minus Cade who, according to Yuffie's own conception, was still searching for something clean to dress. She felt an enormous sense of relief at picturing Cade regaining his smile after the hard time he had yesterday. Though, she could not stop thinking how could it be that they had come to share a bed together. Of course, nothing… sexual took place but somehow Yuffie was now thinking about that experience in rather pleasant terms. She actually came to terms with the fact that she had asked it to happen, in the first place. And that because seeing Cade deeply affected by the torments brought about by the course of the events had made her realize she was feeling alone herself.

That, and that she liked Cade.

She had finally found the guts to admit that to herself in the confusion of a busy briefing room filling up with special forces operatives eager to get ready to action once again. It was liberating, also because she felt at peace with herself now that she had had the courage to let that feeling out amid the hustle of a space where everyone was focused instead on the impending mission.

She momentarily shut herself from the outer world, caring not about attracting someone's attention with her seemingly detached composure, musing on stuff such as how she liked how Cade strived to get the best out of anything, no matter how worse it was. She appreciated his care-free attitude yet how his heart always guided him towards helping someone he cared for even at the cost of his own life. She admired his resilience, valiantness and pride. He was beautiful, pretty smart and a loving being whose sole, giant weakness was not being keen on showing his frailties or ask for help. That an a bit of stubbornness. And a pinch of brat-like behaviour.

When did she cross the line that separated friendship from love (as her mind struck that word, goose bumps grew on her skin)? She did not know for sure. Maybe it was not a matter of reaching out and breaking through a threshold. Maybe it was the sum of the experiences they had been through together. Maybe the last straw was the connection she felt inside her room when she helped him while he was so battered and bruised, both internally and externally. What was it? Was it really love? Or maybe just the will to be connected to somebody not to feel alone in such a situation? Someone to lean on? All that she knew was that she was happy when she was with him. And given the circumstances, it was more than enough.

True to be told, there were a couple of things to get straight. As long as Cade had recovered from a nervous breakdown, she could not be sure what would have been of him in the long distance. She barely knew him and his past was mostly wrapped up in mystery, and she did not want to walk blindfolded toward a disaster. Furthermore, was Cade feeling the same towards her? Had he already recovered from the loss of Kayla? Was he already prepared to love someone else after her? What was his attitude towards a relationship now that his girlfriend had practically died in his arms?

There where millions of things to be worked out. But Yuffie was confident it was just a matter of time. That, and staying alive…

'Jeez, Kayla' she found herself thinking, as that last line reminded her of another instance where she had thought exactly the same thing 'Now I know why you loved him so much. I still don't know if I'm entitled to steal him away from you… If only there was an easy way to have a talk and make it clear…" she shook her head, overwhelmed by a sense of hopelessness. One thing was to admit that kind of staff to oneself, another question was to tell it to the other one involved.

His musing were interrupted by Sarah. Lieutenant Farron had anticipated her the breakthrough discovery about Reeve's condition and whereabouts, to which the ninja had reacted with triumph and a reinvigorated sense of hope

"Where is Cade? He doesn't look like someone who would allow himself to be so late…" she asked Yuffie.

Yuffie raised his head and was just about to shrug when Elena came in

"You really don't have any idea, Yuffie?" she candidly but coyly asked

Yuffie blushed, as she felt the seemingly innocent question like a breach in her comfort zone. Sarah came to her aid, by forcefully clearing her throat.

That made Elena turn towards the lieutenant, who looked at Yuffie in an apologetic way. Yuffie slightly smiled, accepting the apology by proxy from Sarah, who turned back at Elena, who had lowered her eyes in the meantime

"Don't worry Sarah" Yuffie grinned "I have the feeling he gave you a wrong impression on that…"

Sarah rolled her eyes as Evan was getting ready to speak

"All right, gentlemen… and woman" Evan took position next to the screen on the wall of the briefing room. Specialists were still arriving with a steady pace leaving sheets of papers and replacing previously left ones

"As you can see" Evan pointed at the sprawled papers on the table "the situation is far from being steadily assessed. We are constantly being updated by Captain Ruding's intelligence team, who has been working around the clock since our last discovery. Anyway, let's make a recap in order to get things straight"

A diagram appeared behind him on the large display. Evan stepped next to it as he illustrated the titles in each frame of the presentation. He was visibly pepped as he swung his arms while he spoke

"It all starts when a meteorite is spotted falling in the Mythril Desert. Upon its recovery it is assessed that it's made entirely of Mako. Mako has been surging in the outer layers of the atmosphere and is close to being collected in a single point where it could be soon unleashed with catastrophic effects for the planet. The information is still undisclosed to the public."

"Meanwhile a terrorist organization, presumably in connection with the discovery, starts targeting the WRO under the name of Meteor Purification Movement. Security is stepped up yet the motivations behind the actions of this group are shrouded in mystery"

"Here's where the string come in: in an attempt to tackle the Mako catastrophe, the WRO sends a team to recover a large quantity of Mako from the Northern Crater region. The MPM allegedly strikes at the team with our friends Cade Tuesti and Yuffie Kissaragi being indicated as the ringleaders of the MPM who had carried out the attack on the mission. Reeve Tuesti, our Director, is jailed under the accusation of conspiracy against the WRO itself. The WRO is currently led by an interim leader, Brad Clawbourne, son of General Adrian Clawbourne, who has committed suicide in his office after killing his staff in an attempt to pose as being killed by the conspirators led by Director Tuesti"

"As far as now" Evan tirelessly continued, while Yuffie kept glancing at the room's entrance, to see if there were any sings of Cade "martial law has being enacted pretty much everywhere the WRO has a sizeable presence. A crackdown of activities related to the conspiracy is underway and a couple of incidents have happened so far" he read from a paper "In Kalm, the whole WRO garrison has mutinied after our visit there, where a disk containing evidence that the Scientific Division of the WRO might have tampered scientific data for reasons yet unknown has been retrieved"

"In Niebelheim" he continued "an angry mob has been brutally dispersed after an incident where WRO troops have shot dead a man who was not cooperating with them. The situation is generally chaotic, and unless some divine intervention, Colonel Clawbourne and his lackeys at the General Staff will have to devise something to get a grip on the populace"

"And what would it be?" Perkins raised his hands

"We don't down" Evan shook his head "but it will be something dramatic. Most commanders of garrisons in the outskirts of Gaia are on the verge of severing links with Edge"

"We are on the brink of a civil war, virtually" Kewell intervened

"I hate to put it that way" Evan replied "But we do are"

An eerie silence fell into the room. Yuffie's mind raced back home, and she immediately realized that his father was oblivious to her fate. She had to reach out for him somehow when the chance would arise

"But now we do know where Director Tuesti is, right?" Sarah finally broke the silence

"That's it!" Evan nodded "Our intelligence gathering team just intercepted a message from Edge to Junon where…"

A thumping, rapidly repeated noise came from the corridor outside the room. As it grew more intense and closer a panting sound came along it.

Cade abruptly came to a halt on the threshold of the entrance, making everyone turn towards himself

"Did I miss something?" he asked, still heavily breathing for the run

"No, nothing really important" Evan shrugged "Just a resume explaining how we came to this point…"

"Nothing that I don't know, then" he replied, as he walked to the only empty place that was, surprisingly enough, next to Yuffie

"Sorry everyone. It is quite hard to get dressed when most of the clothes you have haven't been washed for a week" he explained, while he took a seat. Elena chuckled while Sarah covered her face in despair

"Hey there" he quietly whispered to Yuffie as he adjusted himself on the chair. Yuffie briefly smiled, although inside her she could not believe how rapidly Cade had recovered. It was either creepy or highly remarkable. She was glad of it nonetheless

"Hi there" she silently replied, with a brief but sincere smile, her eyes gleaming

"Ok, Cade" Evan resumed his briefing "Who tells me where we were at?"

"We were talking about Director Tuesti…" Perkins answered

Upon hearing the rank and surname of his uncle, Cade's sunny disposition was swept away as he grew concerned and serious in a matter of seconds

"What's up with Reeve?" he suddenly pressed "Have you find him?"

"Yes" Evan replied

"Where?"

"Junon"

"What's he doing in there?"

"They jailed him" Sarah told him

"Well" Cade's urgency waned down a bit "better jailed than buried"

Yuffie marvelled at Cade's willingness to shed humour even there. Why was she marvelled at all, then? She ought to know it was his way to deal with pressure

"So know that we know where he is" Yuffie took word "we can launch a rescue operation…"

"Hold your Chocobos, lady!" Perkins tamed her enthusiasm "We are talking about a correctional facility which is packed with WRO personnel! This is not something that can be done by storming the front door and spraying bullets everywhere either…"

"There are too many 'civilians' in the way…" Kewell noted

"What do you mean?" Evan asked

"The WRO personnel guarding the facility may be simply guarding a prison" Kewell explained "I sincerely don't feel like I'm willing to take down soldiers like us, basically…"

Yuffie could not agree more with him

"If we fail there are two alternatives" Elena intervened "We fly, and we blow our cover. If we are all captured, instead, we will serve Brad a nice present, and he will publicly execute us in the name of restoring order…"

"That's a valid point, too" Evan noted

"I think we need to think strategically first, rather than tactically" Sarah said "Even if Director Tuesti is rescued, where we will bring him? Brad will issue an order to shoot down the Shera on sight and the whole WRO will be looking for us!"

"First things first" Evan regained the reins of the discussion "How do we enter, or rather, how do we get access to the prison?"

"Why not via sea?"

"There are patrols everywhere…"

"Maybe with a diversion…"

"There aren't enough elements on our side…"

Soon the discussion turned into an heated argument. The sound advice by Lieutenant Farron of trying to figure out the moves immediately following the eventual liberation of Reeve was thrown away. Obviously, the SISF was not a party of plotters and conjurers. It was a pack of people who craved action, who where used to think not more ahead that thirty minutes when on the field

Yuffie got lost in the bickering between the special operatives as the discussion dug deeper and deeper into analysis of tactics and plans where Yuffie's knowledge allowed her to be only a hapless bystander. Her attention turned to Cade, who was staring the wall across his position, in a frozen laid-back posture.

Then, as a circuit triggered inside him, he slowly stood up and, almost magically, everyone calmed down until all the voices were killed, one by one. All the people in the room took their seat back as they turned their eyes on him

"Say, Evan" Cade finally spoke "the WRO, or better, Brad issued warrants for our capture, right? Me and Yuffie…"

"Right" Evan confirmed "What do you…"

Evan immediately grew an incredulous look as he slowly began to see into Cade's intention

"Are you serious?" he asked him "Don't you really want to…"

"What?" Yuffie asked, eager to understand the plan Cade had just devised "What do you mean with…"

"Evan" Cade solemnly declared "I am your key to the Junon Correctional Facility. You will surrender me to the prison staff and there you have your inside-man"

"Wait a minute!" Yuffie stood up "I've got a warrant too, right? What about me?"

"I'll tell them that I framed you" Cade explained "I'll explain you were a hostage, and I hoped to make you look like one of the perpetrators to drag the Kingdom of Wutai into the crisis!"

Yuffie stood there, speechless. Evan made a step forward

"Cade, this is too risky…" he countered

"I'm listening, Evan" Cade scoffed him "Go on! Pitch your ideas…"

Evan sighed, as he realized that Cade had devised a risky yet effective way to get a foot in the prison complex. Perhaps the most effective of all. All the SISF member were staring at her with a mixture of disbelief and admiration. Except for Sarah, who had decided to express her appreciation for Cade's boldness with a slight grin

"You won" Evan meekly surrendered

"See, we're already halfway there" Cade enthusiastically slammed his hand on the table, startling most of the people around it "Now let's dive deep into every piece of information about the complex that we can get: blueprints, personnel, shifts…"

"Wait a second" Yuffie intervened "How about the guards? Perhaps they are just clueless about the nature of the events around them. I mean the real nature…"

"Well, but surely you guys have something for it…" Cade replied

"For it, what?" Perkins leaned forward

"In order to incapacitate the guards" an annoyed Elena "Do I need to explain you what 'incapacitate' means?"

'And they are supposed to be a couple…' Yuffie thought amused upon witnessing that brief confrontation. Love was something which worked in mysterious ways indeed

"I'll go and talk to Cid about that" Evan assured him "But we surely need to plan ahead, and I mean ahead in term of weeks" he warned them

"There's a first time for everyone, right?" Sarah pointed out as, suddenly, a ping on the screen on the wall warned them of an impending message

Evan rushed to the screen as everyone followed him, waiting for the window to enlarge and reveal the information it contained

"Seismic activity in the whole planet on the rise" Evan read out loud "Mideel hit by a devastating tsunami right after a quake hit off the coast"

"And an extraction facility in Corel has suffered extensive damage after… Mako has spurted out of the surface?" Cade repeated incredulously

"Corel? You said 'Corel'?" Yuffie asked

"Yep, it says 'Corel'" Cade confirmed

"Damn it!" Yuffie almost cried as she stared into the screen

"Are you all right?" Cade questioned her, feeling and seeing her distress

"Nothing" she shook her head "I just hope somebody I know and who happens to work in Corel is alright…"

Cade made a slight nod as Evan was thinking out loud "So now basically Mako is surging from under the surface and building up in the sky? What is this… sorcery?"

"Well, we should ask the Scientific Division, provided they aren't busy trying to figure it out themselves"

"I'm sorry for the people in Mideel…" Yuffie murmured, as she recalled years ago when she barely escaped the destruction of that little town back when she had fought Sephiroth along with her gang. Apparently, the newly rebuilt settlement had to face a new challenge again

"Probably this will play in our advantage" Cade guessed "The WRO will be busy dispatching personnel to the affected areas. Maybe drafting them from Junon itself"

"We are keeping an eye on the flow of soldiers to and from the affected areas. But, to be honest, little will change…"

"So what are we going to do now?" Sarah asked "Send Colonel Clawbourne a message where we tell him that Cade and Yuffie are in our hands? Will he fall in our trap so easily?"

"Probably…" Cade replied, slightly amused

"I wouldn't count on that" Yuffie retorted "I would like to remind you that I'm supposed to tag along in your plan. I demand I have a say on this"

"Cade, Brad will not take your excuse for good…" Evan noted

"Which one?"

"The fact that you forced Yuffie to come along with your plan" he explained "Who knows what will happen once you will be locked up in Junon"

"Hey, I'm not saying my plan is perfect" Cade objected "but at least is a way to enter in that damn prison. Besides, if it's Yuffie you're worried about, you clearly haven't seen her in action…"

Yuffie blushed, caught by surprise by the flattering remark

"There's no need for you to say that" she whispered "but thanks for using my prowess to sell your plan"

"I repeat" Cade replied to Evan "if anyone has a better idea, and it doesn't seem likely, then go on and talk"

A moment of silence passed, while everyone pondered about the next move to take and weighed the pros and cons of what they had head thus far. But the situation was the way it was: Cade's idea, as much as full of things beyond their control it was, it was the only idea they could come up with

"Cade" Sarah finally exclaimed, breaking the stillness in the room "you have either drafted a kick-ass plan or we are so short in time and creativity that I'll settle for that" she commented "I'm in" she finally confirmed

"A bit of this and a bit of that" Cade commented as a reply to Sarah's words

"I'm too" Yuffie raised her arm "I don't know where I will be next but we must do something."

"It's your skin we are playing with" Perkins warned her "Are you sure is a smart thing to do?"

"If you can't do something smart, better do something right…" the ninja came up

"Sounds like a cool line to me" Elena whistled

"Do we all agree?" Evan concluded

"Do we have options?" Kewell sighed

"Not really…" Cade shook his head

"Then we are all set" Evan stood up "Come on gentlemen. We have a lot of work before us…"

"Since when has the SISF turned into a suicide squad?" Perkins remarked, as images of the Junon prison flipped on the screen.


	19. Edge (II)

EDGE

1.

Brad Clawbourne was standing in a room where the atmosphere was as hectic as the one in the briefing room of the Shera. Only it was a kind of malignant agitation, brought about by what it sounded like an endless quarrel between tow rows of men sitting at the opposite sides of a long table which stretched across the room.

Brad was immersed in his thought, calculating the advancements in his plan and mentally assessing whether every piece of the jigsaw was at its place. The picture was almost complete. But still something stood in the way.

Facing the wall opposite the window at one end of the room, he was not bothered at all by the voices of the men at his back. The members of the General Staff who now exercised, along with him, total control over the World Regenesis Organization were appalled by the latest disasters that had struck in Corel and Mideel. The first was a significant blow in terms of economic damage, the latter was a devastating loss of human lives.

But Brad Clawbourne did not care about such details. Neither the members of the General Staff actually, who were bothered more by the bad publicity the slow and uncoordinated response was giving them. What mattered to Brad himself was the image the leadership of the WRO would have shown by tackling these disasters. Details about deaths and damages were tangent, to say the least, to the nature of the plan which had brought him to be the interim, but soon permanent, chief of the World Regenesis Organization. A position which would have enabled him to perform a bloodless show of force which would have granted to his leadership an image of resoluteness and firm hand that would have both shocked and awed the inhabitants of Gaia.

Inhabitants to which Brad reserved a contempt scowl once the thought of the countless lives partaking in the events of the planet crossed his mind. A sea of variables to normalize through a series of actions, as he sharply liked to think of them.

He turned towards the members of the General Staff, whose animosity towards each other in the discussion was at its peak

"This is insane" a man cried "I've got already two brigades in Kalm openly menacing to occupy the town and declare some sort of self-government. And they ask of me to deport their commanders! This is an invitation to an open war!"

"You leadership skills are pretty much under the rug, apparently!" another officer retorted "How can it be that two brigades, I mean TWO brigades are on the verge of mutiny?"

"Gentlemen" a third general intervened "the situation will only degenerate even more if will refuse to assist the community in Mideel. It will only mean that the central command of the WRO is deaf to the plight of the most outreaching communities. The situation will be unmanageable by then…"

The polite exchange of views among the high ranking officials lasted shortly. Soon it resumed to a ferocious brawl as fists where stomped on the desk and sheets of papers were randomly strewn across the table.

Brad decided he had enough of that group of grown-up schoolboys who had probably been entrusted with more authority their brains could manage. He turned and decided to hold the reins of the situation.

As he approached the head of the table, the argument ceased

"Can anyone please act as a the spoke-person for the whole bunch of yours? I think I heard too much voices at once…" he sarcastically observed, with a menacing grin

"Sir" a general stood up "we need to put our personnel in motion. Standing idle will only precipitate the situation. We will not feast over the ruins of a civil war…"

"So that's your chief concern?" Brad calmly asked, with a soft yet unsettling demeanour

"You promised us to have the whole population wrapped around our fingers" another officer intervened "but we are still trying to hold the command of several units scattered around the globe…"

"You disappoint me, gentlemen" Brad cut him short, with a devilish chuckle "I thought soldiers were prone to observe the chain of command. If not so, my first and most reasonable guess is that the chain suffers from some weak rings"

Upon these words the General Staff gulped in unison. The fact that Brad Clawbourne had risen through the ranks so rapidly was partly due not only to his swiftness and quick acting while the situation was unstable, but also to his ruthlessness and determination in removing every obstacle that hampered his plans.

When Brad Clawbourne, whose father had gladly sacrificed his own life to the cause whose true nature was evident only to Brad himself, moved a finger the impression of walking on eggshells reached a peak hardly equalled by anything else.

A general cleared his throat

"There are no issues at all regarding the chain of command" he explained "but we'll have to step up the operation as soon as we can otherwise we won't be able to hold the stage anymore"

"People are just people, gentlemen" Brad cut him short, his voice now sounding more firm than menacing "and they will do what we will tell them to do if… threatened!" he concluded

"Sir" an officer intervened "no one wants to solve the situation with a bloodshed. We are ready to do our part but we need something to work with. There are rumours spreading around that former Director Reeve Tuesti might have nothing to do at all with the alleged coup"

"There's nothing easier than deem that kind of voices as preposterous propaganda!" Brad swiftly countered, as he clenched his fist upon hearing that name

"That does not mean that we have to hurry…" someone intervened

"We need to respect the timing of our plan!" Brad suddenly raised his voice, putting everyone at their place "If we disclose the information in our possession too soon we will leave plenty of room to the ones doubting the sincerity of our action!"

Brad took a few step towards the table

"Gentlemen" he exclaimed "Nobody forced you to take part in this plan. You all joined because you shared Adrian Clawbourne's vision about a world ruled according to the sacred principle of justice and discipline…"

He could not prevent himself about thinking of the absurdity of the situation. No one could ever imagine that his aims were the opposite of the ones of the men sitting at the desk before him. Brad and the General Staff were two sides of the same coin but soon the coin would have split apart

"…but the condition is that we all would have followed his plan word by word, as written down in the book. The plan for which he gladly took his life!"

He paused, as the thought of his father sacrificing himself momentarily breached the hull he had built around himself. He did not have time to grieve over the death of Adrian Clawbourne, who had already suffered endless torments in his life because of the organization he had ironically decided to serve. He had pulled the trigger voluntarily and without second thoughts, knowing that his son would have ultimately succeeded in carrying on the plan he had conceived to exact his revenge

"So" he resumed "whoever thinks he is not in his element anymore is free to stand up and walk through that door" he stretched his arm indicating with his index the passage on his left

"But mark my words!" he followed, regaining his stance "The moment you will walk through that door your existence will be unsafe just like the ones of anybody not yielding to our will. Am I clear?" he finished, stressing out the last three words.

The table stood silent as every WRO officer stared at him in submission. Sometimes all it took was the right word in the right moment, and even the fiercest discussion would terminate at once

"Where we were at?" he candidly asked, then, as if nothing really bothering had happened

"We will resuming mobilizing the resources we have" the general whose seat was virtually next to Brad spoke up "until further notice or development" he said, chunking down a throb in his throat as he finished.

"Is that all?" Brad asked "Everyone concurs?"

"Yes, Sir!" the board of generals replied at unison

"Good" Brad maliciously smiled "Is good to have everyone at peace and with a common intent once again…"

A loud beep prevented him from finishing his sentence. Along with the sound, a yellow led appeared next to the door

"Urgent message for Interim Director Brad Clawbourne and the General Staff" a mechanical voice came from a speaker. Brad's face twitched upon hearing his newly bestowed title. He could not wait to remove that hideous word that came before 'director'.

"Listening" he replied. Only the message was not via PA. The yellow light turned green and the door slid open. A messenger stood beyond the threshold, at attention

"Well, what that should be?" Brad asked, impatience rising in him. The whole General Staff had turned their attention to the sudden appearance of the WRO soldier holding a tablet in his hand

"I'm sorry Sir" the soldier replied "the message we had received from Junon was too confidential to be put on loudspeakers, Sir" the soldier explained, still standing at ease.

Brad moved towards him. He took the tablet and slid a magnetic card attached to his uniform on the screen. The display lit up and finally, after punching in a couple of codes, the message appeared.

A wide smile appeared on his face.

The good things always happened to the ones who could wait.

"Gentlemen" he exclaimed "Your patience has been rewarded. Apparently we have just been cleared to proceed to phase two of our plan. Thanks, private. Dismissed!" he ordered the soldier handing him back the tablet.

The generals looked at each other in amazement and curiosity, a low, muffled voice coming from them as they speculated on the nature of the message Brad had just received.

"You are all dismissed and the meeting is adjourned" Brad announced "You will be briefed as soon as the details of the next phase will be available. Now off you go: You have some work to do…" he ordered, as everyone stood up collecting their stuff and calmly and orderly proceeding out of the room.

Brad slowly walked towards the giant window dominating the wall opposite from the end of the wall where he had stood. He looked downward at the bustling metropolis of Edge, and a pleased grin grew on his face, upon recalling the content of the message.

Things were about to become more and more interesting.


	20. Junon

JUNON

1.

The landing skids of the Shera touched the ground of the landing pad and a sudden jolt ran throughout the entire frame. Most of the crew stationing near the loading bay of the ship nearly lost their equilibrium as the landing was rougher than expected

"Fuck that!" Cade shouted as he nearly stumbled. He had his hands tied behind his back and was far from the walls of the loading bay so he had nowhere to grab to in order to prevent himself from tumbling down. He eventually managed to stand on his feet despite the unannounced shock.

Beside him, Yuffie easily managed to keep her balance without having to resort to anything resembling a mad flitter, much to Cade's amazement

"How did you do that?" he asked, staring at her

Yuffie winked at him "Ninja training!" she simply replied

Cade smiled back. He glanced at the girl next to him, who had almost fearlessly volunteered to tag along in the plan he had devised to sneak into the Junon penitentiary and free his uncle. She was wearing worn out combat boots around her feet, sorted by a stash of used equipment which served to the purpose of suggesting she had endured a hard time being withheld by Cade. Her legs were wrapped up in the SISF trousers and she wore a white tee over her shoulders.

She was beautiful, even with that second hand clothing upon her. Cade could not think of anything else during the hiatus just before the official beginning of their operation. He was wearing pretty much the same apparel as Yuffie, with the short-sleeved tee revealing the fresh bandages on his arms

'And I'm about to throw her into that mayhem' he sternly scolded himself 'Not only she's beautiful and with a heart as big as the moon but she is also a princess with a throne waiting for her at home. I shouldn't let her run into such risky situation…' he thought to himself as the consequences of bringing Yuffie with him were slowly surfacing to his mind

"Yuffie" he suddenly told her

"Mmmh?"

"You don't have to do this" he explained her "I'll find a way to get you back home safe and clean. You don't have to do this!"

Behind them, Lieutenant Farron was arraying the whole SISF across the bay, with the airship's crew behind them. They were trying to stage a genuine prisoner handover. The special operations operatives were in full battle dress, helmets on their heads and masks on their faces

"I'm doing it" she resolutely replied "Reeve is my friend too. And I want this thing to end!"

"You have a kingdom to look after…" he reminded her

"If we don't do this I'll have nothing to look after!" she firmly replied "I'm going in. Mark my words!"

Cade smiled again "You're sure are a brave girl…"

Yuffie beamed "If you're with me I'll be safe" she reassured him.

Cade felt a surge of warmth in his heart upon hearing these words. How could it be that she trusted him so much?

 _It is because you always downbeat yourself_ …

Again that voice. It sent a shiver down his spine as Cade promptly shrugged it away. He hadn't had visions or heard voices since he had shared the bed with Yuffie that night. Evan was right: a sound sleep was all it took him to regain strength and patch up his mind. Not that Yuffie did not do her part, albeit involuntarily…

Cade shook his head again. He needed to focus

"Hey, are you all right?" Yuffie asked him, with concern

"Oh, nothing" he reassured her "I just got lost in a couple of thoughts…"

Behind them, Evan and Cid appeared as well in the hull

"Hey, cranky old man" Cade smiled teasing him "What was that landing just before? Were you nervous?"

"Fuck you!" Cid bitterly replied. Much to both of them, Cid had donned a pristine WRO uniform he had probably never worn in ages. Apparently he was donning that piece of equipment for the sake of adding more veracity to the act

"You are throwing yourself in the arms of the enemy like a blindfolded man, I have all the darn right to be entitled to be fucking nervous!" he shouted, trying to lit up a cigarette "As far as you are concerned Yuffie, you'd better stay alive otherwise Godo will kill us all if they won't…"

"Thanks for your concern, Cid" Yuffie replied "Nice suit by the way! I bet your wife would die to see you wearing that…" she poked fun at him

"Fuck the both of you!" Cid simply retorted , throwing the cigarette to the ground and lighting up another one. Behind that mask, both Yuffie and Cade knew that behind the raspy face, Cid was genuinely worried for them.

In the distance Sarah smiled behind her balaclava. The tactical apparel would have used to both intimidate the lay WRO infantry and to be ready to get in action at once

"You have to pardon him" Evan sighed "you know he's jumpy when he's nervous"

"And not just when he 's nervous…" Cade remarked

"How are you?" Evan asked, turning serious all at once

"A lot of different things all together…" Cade shrugged, smiling

"You are unbearably jolly instead, even when you're nervous!" Yuffie noted

"I'm not nervous" he replied

"I beg to differ" Evan teased him

"Come on" Cade changed subject himself this time "Are you all ready?"

Evan shook his head "We can be as ready as ever but nothing like that has ever been attempted before…"

"There's a first time for everything!" Cade said

"And a last time as well…" Yuffie caustically remarked

"What about you?" Evan turned his attention towards the ninja

"I'm fine" she said "Not feeling a hundred percent comfortable without my weaponry but close enough!"

Evan rolled his eyes "You two are terrible"

They both shared a laughter. They were about to be apprehended by a full size division of the WRO and they had to try to reach Reeve inside the most guarded correctional facility on Gaia and evade. And yet they had the will to laugh. Sarah looked at them from behind, not believing what she was witnessing. Cid pretty much felt the same.

Yet for most of the people sharing the space with them, their attitude had the power to whisk away the tension. And for most of the SISF members, it was a very welcomed diversion

"Listen" Evan told them, after the laughter died "the intelligence specialists will be in touch with you once fireworks will begin. Try to find a way to communicate with us and you'll have Ruding's voice in your ears in no time!"

"Good!" Cade nodded "Else?"

Evan opened his arms, as to tell him that he did not know what else to tell him "You will be in the hands of destiny from the moment you'll be apprehended onward"

"What about the Shera?" Yuffie suddenly asked "What will you do if the guards will eventually storm the ship?"

"We'll come up with something. Now go!" Evan cut short as he backed off and readied his side weapon

"I hate the concept of destiny" Cade muttered. A clang echoed in the bay as the gears handling the opening of the hatch were set in motion. A beam of light made its way inside as the nook between the hatch and the frame widened

"Why?" Yuffie asked, curiously

"It makes me think I have no control on my life" Cade answered, as the door finally lowered, touching the tarmac

At a site opposite the one where the Shera had landed, a rather small plane was landing vertically on a pad. The jet was a liaison aircraft usually reserved for top officers of the WRO. It had never been used before, actually, but Brad Clawbourne thought that the occasion was well worth it and the small, powerful, VSTOL-based jet deserved to be rolled out of the hangar where it had rested for too long.

As he stepped down the aircraft, immediately followed by a party of WRO soldiers earmarked for his own personal protection, he was met by another WRO officer who rushed towards him. The man eager to meet him was older than Brad, and sporting the ranks of general on his uniform.

Once they met, they saluted each other

"Quit it, colonel" the general immediately spoke "we don't have to carry on these idiocies!"

"Appearance is everything, Sir" Brad replied

"How it is to deal with the General Staff?" the general asked

"If only we would not need them…" Brad angrily sighed, as he was led inside a building, going through security checkpoints staffed by WRO personnel who immediately stood at attention once Brad Clawbourne and Jeremiah Reed, general in charge of the Junon WRO Facilities, passed through. The respect they bore for the WRO general was equalled if not overtaken by the respect Brad had for him: Reed was deemed instrumental for this second phase of the plan, as he was the supervisor of a number of facilities all located in Junon which would have immensely served Brad's ends

"Patience, Colonel. Patience" Reed told him "We have all the pieces of the jigsaw at their place, now that the Tuesti family is reunited. It will be only a matter of persuasion and the third phase will be in motion in no time…"

"So is it true, at last?" Brad enquired "The crew of the Shera has captured Tuesti and lady Kissaragi?"

"Apparently they gave themselves in" Reed explained "Plus the Shera was with the newly established special forces team onboard. A piece of cake, apparently…"

"Who was commanding them? They are still on trial status, as far as I know…" Brad wondered

"Major Evan Kallstrom" Reed recalled "A field officer of the WRO. Too close to Mr. Tuesti. Both of them actually…"

"What do you mean?" Brad asked, as they found themselves in a corridor leading to a giant hall that could be seen in the distance

"Nothing" the general shook his head "Nothing at all. But, you know, with the WRO on the verge of breaking apart due to the tensions in the peripheral regions we must be confident and paranoid at the same time. Anyway, the whole facility is at your disposal"

Brad briefly pondered over the words of the WRO general walking beside him

"What about the harbour?" he asked, pointing in the direction of the shoreline

"Just finishing the last tuning up. Enough with the chatter anyhow" the general soon cut short as they were escorted to a lift "I bet you are anxious to meet the prisoners. The old ones and the new ones"

Brad nodded, as the elevator doors opened and they walked in. One of the soldiers belonging to the protection party commanded the lift up to the top floors

"Will there be issues regarding the status of lady Kissaragi? She's the heiress apparent to the throne of Wutai after all…"

As the doors closed and the lift began ascending, Reed made a gesture with his hand "This is a concern not worth worrying. On the other hand, that could be a pretext to drag that anachronistic relic of a country down the sinkhole once and for all…"

Brad marvelled at willingness of General Reed to carry on the plan to its full potential and extent. Reed and his father had always been close friends since they were originally part of the Shera Infantry Corps. If there was someone Brad trusted outside the General Staff, that was him.

"Does someone in the General Staff even suspect a thing about the true nature of our plan?" Reed suddenly asked

"At all" Brad grinned as he shook his head "At all!"

"Good" Reed nodded "You've worked your ass around, Brad. Guess here it comes the time when you can allow yourself some fun…"

The lift stopped. The doors opened again and the twos, plus their escort, were welcomed in the detention wing of the Junon Prison.

"Looking good from here?" Ruding asked one of his specialists, still on the main deck of the Shera

"Pretty much" he replied "It will be risky hacking the system from here. If they found us out we will be a sitting duck…"

"Leave it to the ones tasked with handling the guns" Ruding told him, while patting the side of his belt where he kept the holster. Evan had insisted on issuing a personal weapon, for any eventuality. After a prolonged discussion, Evan got the upper hand. Ruding never like weapons

"What can we see from here?" he resumed, asking his subordinate

"So we've got the landing pads, the main CCTV of the exteriors and the harbour…" the technician cycled through the screens as additional images appeared

"A submarine?" Ruding paused on the section of the screen displaying the recordings from surveillance cameras from the dock

"Something wrong?" the technician enquired

"Nothing, it's just…" Ruding stood still for a moment. Upon seeing the sleek silhouette of the greyish vessel moored at the pier, and the great number of people swarming around it, a bell rang in his brain

"Let me take a look at the operational status of every ship in the WRO arsenal right now…"

The technician's fingers danced on the keyboard and a list scrolled on the display

"What's the hull number of that boat?"

The question raised another issue. No hull number was painted on either side of the submarine

"There isn't…" he finally replied, after a pause

"No submarine results moored in Junon right now" the technician echoed, lightly alarmed by the discovery "and all the other vessels are either sailing towards area marked by unrest or engaged in the search and rescue operation for…"

Ruding instantly snapped from his stasis as soon as a nightmarish hypothesis came together in his mind. As soon as the hypothesis grew more and more realistic, it also came to his mind that taking care of the mysterious submarine was something they did not have enough manpower for.

2.

When the ramp was finally lowered, they were welcomed by an army of WRO infantrymen which rushed to surround the side of the airship looking towards the compound. A sizeable detachment dismounted from two vans parked right in the middle of the opening and, led by an officer sporting the ranks of captain, jogged towards the vessel

"No red carpet, huh?" Cade observed "I'm disappointed…"

"Well" Evan inhaled "there we are. Your plan starts here…"

"Let's hope it doesn't end here as well…" Yuffie whispered

"Be as cruel as you can be, Evan" Cade recommended

"Whatever… but don't bug me because of that if you make it out alive!" Evan replied, then he turned towards the black-suited special operatives behind him

"Prisoners exchange procedure. Everyone at their place. Come on!" he shouted, making sure to be heard from the soldiers who had just stopped at the feet of the ramp. Kewell and Perkins emerged from the SISF formation and flanked both Cade and Yuffie

"Good luck, guys" Kewell whispered "You'll need it!"

"You too!" Yuffie replied, before being dragged forward by Perkins

"Airship Shera!" a loud voice came from a loudspeaker, probably mounted on one of the vehicles not too far in the distance "Prepare to trade prisoners. Follow standard procedure as described by Operations Guideline 177…"

"The hell with that jargon…" Cade muttered

"Shut up!" Evan scolded him, then he addressed the officer standing at the feet of the ramp "This is Major Evan Kallstrom, WRO. Presently detached on the airship Shera. We have the prisoners in our custody"

The officer returned the salute while his men kept the rifles pointed at Cade and Yuffie, whose faces were expressionless

"This is Captain Ted Vrees, Junon Correctional facility" the man presented himself "We are ready to receive the prisoners! The withheld subject are asked to proceed down towards us. Comply or bear the consequences of you insubordination!" he concluded, with an intimidating tone

"Hey" Yuffie silently caught Cade's attention, as they were gently pushed forward by Kewell and Perkins

"What?" Cade replied

"What if they will shoot in our head right here, right now? Point-blank…" she asked, alarmed

"They won't" Cade simply replied as he began to step forward

"How can you be so sure?" Yuffie questioned him

"I've got a feeling…"

"Anything else?"

Cade shook his head "Nope…"

"Oh, good" Yuffie sighed

"I told you, you could dropout anytime" Cade reminded her

"I've got a feeling" she retorted, stressing that last word "that right now I cannot!"

"Shut up, you two!" Captain Vrees menacingly told them. Without even realizing it, their feet had left the steely surface of the ramp and were now resting on the concrete of the landing pad. They were surrounded by the group of soldiers led by Vrees, who walked up to Yuffie

"Are you Yuffie Kissaragi?" he asked, towering her

"Yes…" she meekly replied. Vrees' hand swung down on her. The sound of the impact of the captain's hand on Yuffie's cheek echoed throughout the landing site. Evan grinned, while Cade could not fight the urge to run against him. The reaction of the guards and a firm grip on his handcuffs by both Kewell and Perkins prevented him from being shot on the spot

"It's 'Yes, Sir' for you, you Wutaian bitch!" the captain exclaimed, angering Cade even more. The whole theory about WRO soldiers guarding the place unaware of what was truly happening crumbled down. These were all sadistic beasts, judging from their commanding officer.

Vrees came face to face with Cade

"And you must be Cade Tuesti…" he grinned

"Yes, Sir" he dutifully replied "How did you get that at the first attempt?"

Vrees did not reply. He snapped his fingers and two soldiers dealt Cade a blow on his back with the butt of their rifles, pushing away the special operatives already holding him. Cade ended on the ground, bruising his face as he landed on solid concrete

"What are those bandages?" Vrees asked "Never mind! Remove them and check those constraints!" he ordered as the bandages were ripped off from his skin. Surprisingly, the wounds looked pretty much clean and healed. Nevertheless, Cade let out a brief shriek of pain

"You two will learn very soon how things works in the Junon prison" Vrees told him, bowing on Cade, who was lifted back on his feet by the guards who had just removed the gauzes and tested the firmness of the handcuffs

"Major Kallstrom" Vrees then addressed Evan "your men are relieved from any duty regarding the prisoners. You are ordered to report immediately to the office of the local General Staff envoy for reporting"

"Yes, Sir" Evan replied "What about the SISF and the crew of the ship?"

"The ship is currently barred from taking off, along with the crew" Vrees informed him "Wait until cleared to depart" he explained as Yuffie and Cade were led to the vehicles. They exchanged a last look of mutual assurance as their path separated and before they could disappear Cade made sure the last thing Yuffie would see was his smiling face.

The vans had left the landing pad and were now proceeding on a path leading to the prisoners drop-off area, a road which sunk underground and proceeded thorough a tunnel. In his mind, Cade was mentally revisiting all the blueprints he and Yuffie had studied before landing. He guesstimated his position and guesstimated Evan's location along with the SISF team as well. They must have been about to report to the local command any second now.

The vehicle slowed down as they approached a manned security barrier. According to the plan, and according to their guesses, Evan and his team would be inside the perimeter of the prison in no less than ten minutes. Five minutes had past already, and the SUV had finally gone past the barrier, with one last final stop at the unloading bay.

The Junon prison had a very simple layout. An octagonal perimeter with minor auxiliary buildings on the outside. The main defences were located on the main walls and once they were breached, the worst part was over. Unfortunately, it was still heavy guarded by WRO soldiers who were probably just doing their job and that made the task of opening up a path quite challenging. Not that Cade still believed that much, after the rough treatment they had been subjected to on the surface. Yet he still resolved to kill only if strictly necessary.

Two more minutes (roughly) had gone by. He looked through the slits of the rear doors of the vehicle, taking a look at the truck following them. The one which was carrying Yuffie. The lights of the tunnel rhythmically gleamed on the dashboard as they flew overhead.

Cade spent the last three minutes thinking about the WRO soldiers who were escorting them. Apparently, now that he rested his mind upon it, there was something unsettling in their behaviour: they were too brutal and professional to be WRO good-intentioned-at-the-bottom-of-their-soul soldiers. Not that after the prolonged peace Gaia had enjoyed the WRO soldiers had grown lazy and plump, generally speaking but the ones sharing the passenger compartment with him had a different light in their eyes. Maybe it was working in an environment like the correctional facility. Or maybe it was the fact that Brad and the General Staff had personally assigned their worst elements (in terms of attitude) to guard his uncle.

The truck slowed down and finally came to a halt. It parked next to a raised section of the floor leading to a series of open doors

'About time' he thought to himself. Right now, Evan was supposed to be inside the compound as well. If not, it mattered naught. He would have gladly fought for the both of them.

'Oh, God… the rush of battle and of action' he thought, concealing his grin 'I missed it! The more bustling the endeavour, the more fun it is!'

Back there, the second van stopped along the raised section as well, a couple of metres from the bumper of the first one. A party of WRO soldier was approaching the vehicles from the doors

"Transport 1 and 2 at destination" the driver spoke via an intercom. Was he talking through a radio too?

"Roger" one of the men next to Cade said "Preparing to unload passengers!"

Cade had previously marked the efficiency of the WRO soldiers deputed to carry them. Maybe he had overestimated their wits, because they had failed to notice the small cord connecting the right handcuff to a spot on his wrist were a tiny, pink cone rose from his skin

"Hey you!" a guard addressed Cade "Fucking stand up. Or I'll make you stand up with the bad ones!"

His colleague opened the door.

Mistake number one.

The third guard lazily pushed the other door.

Mistake number two.

Enough mistakes for today.

From Cade's wrist a flash of light erupted, followed instantly by a bang. The passenger compartment was soon saturated by a thick, grey smoke coming from Cade's arms. A similar chain of events took place in the van carrying Yuffie as well.

Cade took advantage of the confusion to regain full control of his arms, as the handcuffs had broken into pieces. He rushed for the holster of the soldier next to him and swiftly dealt him a blow on the head with the pick-pocketed pistol, knocking him unconscious. Without any regret, he pounded a couple of shots in the legs of the two soldiers in front of him, leaving them crying out in pain. He then darted outside the van, emerging from the smoke.

He turned towards the front of the vehicle and quickly opened the door, swinging another blow with the grip of the pistol on the driver's head and yet shooting a round in the knee of the guard on the passenger seat, who opened the door on his side and fell on the concrete howling out in pain.

He then took shelter behind the truck, as the WRO soldiers on the raised section took cover behind the pillars separating the door and began firing and shouting orders.

He was soon joined by Yuffie, who slid next to him panting

"How come I did not hear a shot from your van?" Cade asked her, grabbing a rifle and shooting a volley at a panel he thought controlled the closure of the doors

"They are called martial arts" she replied "Was it really necessary to shoot at them?" she asked concerned

"Worry not. I just prevented them from walking for a month or two!" he replied

"Whatever…" Yuffie jumped on the roof of the van and somersaulted in the air, landing on the raised section. Cade sprinted forward and took cover as he climbed on it. Yuffie emptied two weapons she had salvaged from her captors, forcing the WRO soldiers to retreat from their positions.

The leftmost door began closing but got stuck halfway. The other two stood open. Apparently by disabling that panel Cade had made a lucky guess. He shoot in the direction of the WRO soldiers retreating between two booths and through a door which closed up instantly

"Send backup! Condition red!" one of the guards shouted before disappearing behind the closing door.

Cade inhaled, scratching his skin were the flash had generated

"So it really worked" Yuffie noted, scratching her forearms too

"Yep" Cade nodded "Cid is one step ahead of the devil himself"

"When he first talked about these explosive band aids I thought the years of drinking and smoking had finally taken their toll on him…"

"…on the other hand he is as smart and cunning as ever!" Cade continued, as he picked up a radio earpiece from and unconscious soldier. He slotted it into his ear inviting Yuffie to do the same. As he lodged in into his ear the voices of the WRO personnel anxiously chatting could be briefly heard

"…regroup at the bottom floor. Prepare a line of defence there. They must be taken alive…"

Cade switched frequency as Ruding had instructed him

"Ruding, do you copy?"

"Who is it?" a familiar voice replied from the other side "Identify yourself, caller!"

"I'm the one responsible for all the mess down here…" he replied

"Cade? Oh, shit!" Ruding moaned

"Is there something wrong?" Yuffie intervened, having changed the frequency herself upon Cade's direction

"You are running ahead of the schedule" Ruding explained "Evan and the SISF have yet to report to General Jeremiah Reed, the commander of the facility"

"Then were are they?" Cade enquired

"They are stuck in the lobby, several stores above you" Ruding told them "They are withheld there because the prison is in lockdown. But they are still good to go and their cover is still solid"

"What do we do now?" Yuffie asked

"Proceed as usual" Ruding told them "By the way, Cade. Brad is here too!"

"What?" Cade exclaimed "Where?"

"I'm tracking the movements of several key characters currently located within the prison. He is still in the office of General Reed. And I'm afraid there's more…"

"Like what?"

"I'll tell you later. Move on now!"

"Let's move on then!" Yuffie spurred Cade, as she heard the conversation on her radio. In a split second they were past the booths and in front of the door leading to the place where, judging from the broadcasts, quite a number of WRO soldiers had set up a barricade

"What's behind the door?" Yuffie asked via radio

"The lift to the detention wings" Ruding answered

"Where is Reeve?"

A pause and then Ruding's voice was heard again on the radio "Level F, wing 6. All you can do is fight your way through the defences and reach his cell. I'll tell you if something interesting pops up"

"Start by telling us how to open that door" Cade impatiently asked

"Stand back and I'll have it opened in no time. And by the way, if kneecapping these soldiers is too laborious, don't hesitate on killing them. The records show that a massive change of personnel has taken place since Reeve has been brought here"

Cade paused and looked Yuffie in the eyes. None of them ravished at the idea of killing people. But if it had to be done as a last resort, then so be it.

"All right then" Yuffie nodded in unison with her teammate "Ruding, get this door open!"

As soon as the alarm started ringing throughout the entire complex, Brad was taken on a detour inside the situation room of the penitentiary. There, an alarmed surveillance staff had briefed him on the new development of the situation, much to his anger

"How could it be?" he thundered "They had been searched before boarding the transport, haven't they? How did they got free so easily?"

"The guards were taken by surprise by an explosion…" a soldier offered to explain

"Bullshit!" Reed said "Send there the containment team, and order them to use non lethal weapons. They must be captured alive!"

Reed and Brad walked away from the surveillance stations

"We can work something even if they should be accidentally killed" Brad told him "After all, they have still tried to storm a WRO facility trying to set a dangerous individual free…"

General Reed stood silent thinking about Brad's proposal. It made sense. A dead scapegoat was better than someone who probably knew too much and was free to roam wherever he wanted. Let alone two

"All right then!" he said "What about Major Kallstrom and the SISF?"

"They are up to their neck in this" Brad told him "It would be wise to arrest them and get them to tell us what exactly they were planning to do"

Reed walked up to an operator

"Where are Major Kallstrom and all the crew of the Shera due to report to my office?"

The serviceman tapped a command into the screen and a window popped up

"Near the officer's quarters" he read "Section 13, floor H"

"Not far from the detention wings" observed Brad

"I want a team to apprehend them" Reed announced out loud, standing at the centre of the room "Send there every unit available. We are dealing with more than regular infantry there. Again, use non lethal weapons if possible"

"What about the airship?" Brad asked

"Disable it and send a unit to board it before it takes off" Reed ordered, as his command was relayed down through the chain of command

Back on board the Shera, Ruding and his team had been eavesdropping on the conversation in the situation room of the Correctional Facility, thanks to the hacking the intelligence crew had performed earlier.

As General Reed issued the order of arrest Evan and the SISF, Ruding quickly rushed to notify Evan of the impending ambush

"Evan" he shouted at the radio "I think you are about to have some company…"

"The good one or the bad one?" he replied

"Definitely the bad one…" Ruding said

"Sir…" a voice could be heard on the radio in the background "… I have to ask you to surrender your weapons and follow us to…"

The conversation ceased. A loud bang saturated the microphone and gunshots were heard against the solid background of static.

Ruding began sweating as he witnessed, albeit only by radio, at the confrontation between Evan and his team and the WRO squad sent to arrest them.

As he urged his operators to work hard to re-establish a communication link, he hoped Evan's voice would be the next thing coming from the loudspeakers of the radio.

Cid hated wasting time. So he exploited the prolonged period of inactivity to get rid of that ridiculous formal uniform and get back in his fatigues. Hell, they might be far from being catwalk clothes but at least he felt at ease in the grease-soaked weave of the trousers and in the heavy duty jacket.

He had emerged from a hatch on top of the airship, trying to reach for the proximity alert system, a component which had gave him some trouble lately. At least he had now the chance to have a look at it.

He reached for the panel hiding the wiring he intended to inspect and removed it. Then he started gazing at every inch of every wire and every square thumb of every motherboard to see if he could find a fault.

Five minutes into his careful and meticulous work and he immediately had to swore to maintain calm, as the sound of an incoming vehicle grew more and more intense, annoying him to the highest degree. He took a peak down on the apron to shout a couple of expletives to whomever had dared to interrupt his activity, but as soon as he recognized the vehicle, his mouth shut.

An infantry fighting vehicle, armed with a 40-mm turret had sneaked at firing distance from the Shera. Behind it, WRO soldiers swarmed around trailing behind the vehicle.

The turret rotated and the gun was raised

"That bastard is aiming at the engines!" Cid shouted. He rushed for a section of the frame where a yellow panel stood. He hastily removed the safe and took a brief moment to praise himself for his foresight.

He emerged with a rocket launcher between his arms.

He took position behind an engine cowling. He snapped the reticule up and aimed right at the vehicle

"Let's see now who's got the biggest stick around, you ass!" he grinned, as he prepared to pull the trigger.

3.

After walking though the doors, Yuffie and Cade found themselves in a hall divided into three lanes by a pair of rows of columns. At the opposite end, three lifts stood behind an unmanned checkpoint

"Strange" Cade murmured "I thought we'd have some company expecting us!"

Yuffie readied his rifle. She surely missed her traditional weaponry but she was disregarding automatic weapons less and less.

A chime echoed from afar as the lifts opened

"Sound like you called for it" she smiled

From the elevators, WRO officers poured in the hall, some carrying steel riot shields, covering the advance of the ones behind them. The formation of enemy soldiers stopped halfway through the hall, with riot shields sealing off the passages between the pillars.

Two infantrymen leapt forward from the line of shield-welding officers, carrying two oddly-shaped weapons with them

"What are those stuff?" Cade asked

"Freeze!" one of the soldier wielding the bizarre spear-like weapon shouted "Hand in the air! Now!"

Yuffie and Cade exchanged a brief look. They nodded and they slowly started to raise their hands.

The soldiers carrying the weapons relaxed and moved forward. It was the window Cade and Yuffie were waiting for.

In a split second, they jumped sideways, taking cover behind the respective first column of the row. When the soldiers realized their bluff it was too late, but they fired anyhow.

A bluish bolt erupted from the tip of their spears, missing them by a wide margin. The pulse hit the aluminium frame of the door in front of them, exploding in a multitude of sparks. Behind them, the formation loosened letting the WRO soldier march forward.

Cade grabbed his rifle and fired from behind the column. A he sprayed a salvo over a group of soldiers running in the central passage of the hall behind their shields. Sparks flew all around as the bullets ricocheted on the shields, making their carriers falter behind, but they eventually stood their ground. Cade's initiative was countered by a pack of soldiers firing against his position. Pieces of concrete were scalped away from the pillar as he was forced to crouch and take cover.

On the other side, Yuffie did not lose time: she fired at the formation of soldiers closing on her position, then, putting her ninja skill at work she leapt against the wall. The WRO soldiers aiming at the base of the pillar where shocked by that endeavour and now Yuffie was practically running on the wall, followed by the eyes of the WRO infantrymen who were following and getting ready to spray her with their rifles.

A soldier who had ventured too close to her was the first to receive a deadly kick on the side of his head. Although wearing a helmet, Yuffie's right feet powerfully smashed on his jaw, sending him flying high towards the centre of the hall. The order of capturing the escaped prisoner alive was reminded by the shouts of a commanding officer, so the party of soldiers closed in on her, only to be met by a series of punches and kicks graciously swung around. It soon turned out into a lopsided close-quartered combat, Yuffie's favourite environment.

The ensuing fight provided a diversion for Cade, who managed to emerge from the column and hit two soldiers in the chest with his rifle. The soldiers collapsed to the ground, while their team-mates retreated. Cade sprinted forward the corpse of the fallen infantrymen, sliding behind the next column as the retreating WRO officers began firing again to cover their retreat. He recovered a compact-size machine gun and a couple of grenades from the dead soldiers and took the chance to fire against the huddle of WRO personnel around Yuffie, who was making use of every ninja move in the textbook to keep at bay ten enemies at a time. Cade's salvo hit a soldier in the back and another one in the torso, forcing them to retreat

"Thanks" Yuffie said, preparing to face another round of enemies

Cade decided to employ the salvaged grenades. He hurled two flash-bang grenades in two opposite directions. As soon as they went off he darted towards the group of enemies blinded by the detonation and took the chance to put them to sleep with a firm blow in their heads with the butt of the machine-gun. Two other soldiers emerged from the column, apparently unscathed by the grenades. Cade threw the weapon aside and engaged them in a hand to hand combat that lacked the graciousness of Yuffie's moves, but equally effective.

Back to Yuffie's side, she had barley prevented one of the soldier from recovering the taser-spear lying on the floor by stomping on his hands. As soon as the bones of the WRO soldier cracked, she picked up the oblong weapon herself and spun on herself, leaving a both a gashing wound and bad burn on an infantryman's face with the scorching end of the weapon. Behind her, another soldier was apparently tired of the order of capturing these two fugitives alive and lifted his rifle to shoot at her. Yuffie somehow sensed the danger behind her and quickly grabbed the officer in front of her by the holster. She turned on herself, putting the semiconscious soldier between herself and the rifle. Bullets erupted from the weapon, hitting Yuffie's human shield on the back. As the burst came to a halt, the incredulous soldier witnessed his teammate being pounded by his own bullets. The lifeless body of the WRO officer was thrown aside and Yuffie pointed the pistol she had drew from his holster at the soldier who stood in fear and shock in front of her. The hand-held weapon shouted three times and the infantryman faltered behind.

By his own side, Cade threw on the ground the last enemy. He pointed at him the rifle, only to hear pleas from the unfortunate WRO fellow

"Please don't…!" the WRO officer cried while laying on his back on the floor, hands against Cade. The butt of the rifle landed heavily on his forehead, knocking him unconscious.

After a prolonged battle which seemed to have lasted for hours, the hall was a mess of lifeless, collapsed bodies strewn across the entire length. Spent bullets carpeted the floor, as well as chucks of concrete from thinned out pillars.

Cade turned towards Yuffie, panting and throwing the sub-machinegun away. Yuffie returned from his guarding stance and meet him with her eyes. Cade was about to smile when an alarmed expression suddenly appeared on his face. Yuffie wondered why but she soon realized.

An arm swirled around her neck and the cold metal of a pistol pressed against her temple. A soldier had emerged from his hideout and managed to catch her by surprise

"Drop on your knees!" the soldier, no, a sergeant shouted "And lie on the ground. Or I'll send her brains all over the place!"

Yuffie gritted her teeth as the lock around her neck tightened. Cade could swear the WRO officer was having pleasure by inflicting pain on Yuffie. She did not utter a word, though.

Cade was about to follow the sergeant's orders when suddenly Yuffie swung her leg behind her, hitting the captor on his flank with the heel of the boot. The soldier was taken off guard enough for her to liberate herself, twist his arm into an unnatural position, steal the gun from his hand and shoot him point blank right in the middle of the face.

The sergeant fell down with a thud that echoed in the room. Yuffie stood there, arm straightened out and the pistol still smoking from the tip of the muzzle.

She finally lowered her arms, taking a moment to think about what she had done. She had fought and killed before, but in all her past adventures she took life away from creatures that were nowhere as near as humans. Back in the Northern Crater, then, it was sheer self-defence and so it was here. But something unknown made her feel sick in this occasion.

Her breathing grew more shallow as guilt and remorse nearly overwhelmed her.

Cade grabbed her by the shoulder. She turned with a shriek

"Hey, calm down!" Cade said "It's me!"

"Sorry" she apologized "I'm…" she chocked on her word as her eyes lowered

"I know" Cade told her "It's the ugliest feeling in the world. I've already been through that…"

"What?" she exclaimed "You mean you already…"

"It's a long story" he shrugged, picking up equipment form the ground, checking if it was still functional. Yuffie was slowly regained a healthier skin shade after having paled out after her last kill

"God, I hate you!" she bolted towards him "You…"

"Me… what?" he asked, walking towards the lifts and making sure that Yuffie was catching up

"Nothing" she said, then in a more conciliatory tone "I'm sorry. I did not think before talking. I just need to let it out…"

"It's all right" he replied "And beside, I know it's not true…"

Yuffie smiled, as Cade wrapped her arm around her shoulders

'You don't even know how much you are right…' she thought

In the officer's lounge, some levels above, Evan lowered his gun and looked around. He asked himself why on Gaia of all the people who had to come out with a plan, that had to be Cade. His ideas were always rife with unknown variables.

Once the WRO officer manning the checkpoint separating the lounge from the officers' quarters had come forward asking them to surrender their weapons, hell did really break loose.

It was evident their cover had been blown up. A grenade had flown past Evan, landing at the feet of the incredulous soldier. The whole team went to the ground as the flash-bang hurled by Lieutenant Farron wrecked havoc in the room.

WRO soldiers behind the counters of the surveillance booth had rapidly returned fire, as they emerged from the makeshift shelter unaffected by the blast.

The WRO soldier who had politely asked for Evan's weapon was strewn on the ground, caught in the crossfire and hit by bullets fired by at least five different weapons. The whole space around them was trashed by a massive rain of projectiles, fired wherever a WRO officer stood.

The emergency doors shut closed immediately, trapping them inside the room. Several alarms started ringing altogether.

Evan's hand rushed to his earpiece

"Ruding, come in. Things are gone awry here!" he said

No reply came

"Ruding, Shera! Come in!" he repeated

No reply again

"Why aren't they answering?" Sarah asked, as the SISF members rushed to every door to find a way to get them opened again and getting ready for an eventual assault by security forces. All around panels were dangling from the walls and the ceiling, lights were flickering and furniture and all sort of stuff was sprawled on the desk and on the floors.

"I don't know" Evan shook his head "But I've got the feeling things will get a bit more complicated from now on…"

On the Shera, back at the landing pad, Ruding thought exactly the same thing. After a massive blast came from outside, Ruding had gone looking for Cid to enquire about the noise, only to find the pilot climbing down a service ladder all in a hurry

"What was that explosion?" Ruding asked

"Fucking WRO tried to ground the ship" Cid explained, his hands fiddled inside a pocket. Every intelligence officer turned to witness the noisy and colourful reappearance of the pilot "I blasted them out of the pad, but they are going to beat us on our backs real soon…"

"What do you mean?" Ruding stood up as the intelligence officer at the workstation next to him switched to the CCTV circuit of the pad. On the screen, the images of a knocked off infantry combat vehicle appeared, with soldiers around it backing down

"I mean that those pricks are going to burst through the main door without even minding to knock before" Cid replied

"I'm opening up the arsenal!" he announced, then "All of you nerds not manning a vital workplace come with me and get a weapon. Time to show you how we put up some serious gunfight!"

Ruding's hand rushed to his waist, were the pistol was

"I'll get you something better than that" Cid told him as the crew on the main deck lined up to get his piece "but for now keep your eyes on the computer. We need to get this thing done as soon as we can. Everybody, follow me…"

Ruding and his assistant switched back looking at the screen

"Have you managed to re-establish a connection yet?" he asked

"Not yet" the assistant replied, tirelessly fingering on the keyboard "there is quite a mess in here…"

As he launched a look at the crewmembers emerging from the weapons vault with their weapons in their arms, Ruding thought he was luck to be in a quiet corner, all in all

"Come on" he said, taking a seat next to him "Let's try again! Or we'll have to take a rifle in our hands too!"

4.

As the lift soared to the upper level, Cade tried to contact their allies on the radio

"Still nothing?" Yuffie asked

Cade shook his head

"What's next?" she asked again

"The lowest level of the detention wings" he explained "Basically the reception of this hotel"

"Security will be tight…" Yuffie guessed

"Do your worst!" Cade ordered her, as the elevator came to a halt and the door slid open.

They were not greeted by a phalanx of gun-toting soldiers as they expected. Instead, the WRO soldiers on that level were all clustered at the centre of a circular-shaped room, with empty offices on the perimeter separated by glass walls. An officer stood amongst the other figures, sketching diagrams on a washable board, apparently holding a briefing of some sort. None of the guards had their weapon ready.

After the initial surprise, Cade and Yuffie resolved to fully exploit the bombshell factor. As the officer standing and giving the briefing immediately froze upon seeing the unexpected intruders, all the other soldiers turned towards the lifts

"I thought the containment squad had the lower level under control!" the officer shrieked. As he finished his sentence, Cade pulled the trigger.

The bullet flew in a straight line, right through the huddle of WRO guards, lodging in the officer's thigh. As the bullet impacted his leg, all the soldiers backed down and tried to reach for their rifle

"Don't fucking move!" Cade thundered, as the WRO officer moaned in the background "or you'll be next! Everyone of you!" Cade hissed

"Better do what he says" Yuffie shouted "down there looks like a slaughterhouse…"

The WRO soldiers all

gulped upon these words

"Everybody against that wall!" Cade commanded "I mean, that way" he pointed at a space between two glassy cubicles, waiving with his rifle.

They both walked up to the wounded soldier still standing partially knelt hands on his thigh in the middle of the room. He was complaining less about his hole in the leg, now

"You!" Cade pointed his weapon at his face "you give the orders here? Are you in charge here?"

The officer paused before speaking up

"Answer him" Yuffie intervened "or the next bullet will be a bit higher than the last one…"

Cade's left eyebrow arched, surprised as he was by Yuffie's line. She was enjoying this as much as he did, apparently

"I do…" the officer finally replied

"Good" Cade made a slight nod "get the doors to the detention wings opened!"

"I can't…" the officer uttered

"Sorry?" Cade leant over him

"I can't!" the officer explained "These doors are controlled by the Central Command room now. We cannot do a thing from here…"

Cade sighed. Then an idea crossed his mind. A silly idea, but an idea nonetheless

"Then get up and walk up to the radio" he told him, pulling him up by the arm "and tell them you've captured us…"

"I'll do my best…" the officer offered as he limped to what looked like a communication device on a desk. He had obviously no choice

"You don't move!" Yuffie shouted at the soldiers confined at the opposite side of the hall "or I'll paint those glass and walls red!"

'Fucking degenerate!' Cade thought, amazed

"Well now" he made him sat before the radio "now play your part or I'll blow your spine off and you'll spend the rest of your sorry life on a wheelchair…" he threatened, thrusting the muzzle at the base of the officer's neck.

The WRO soldier gulped, then pushed the intercom button

"Command Room, this is Lower Security and Handling Station" he spoke

"Security, come in!" the Command Room replied

"Situation normal, alarm revoked" the guard announced "Intruders apprehended. Requesting clearance to prisoner's translation to detention facility"

The radio fell silent again. Then a voice replied

"Please, requesting visual confirmation"

The WRO guard stood petrified as Cade laid the butt of his rifle on his head, knocking him unconscious for good

"Not one of your best ideas…" Yuffie commented with a grin

Cade silently convened with her. As he threw the unconscious WRO officer on the ground, his gears started grinding to work out a solution.

Unexpectedly, Yuffie spoke first

"What about the fire alarm?" she proposed

"What do you mean?"

"Follow me" she invited him "I'll explain everything on our way…"

In the Command Room, Brad and Reed witnessed Cade's attempt at accessing the detention facility

"Fool me once, shame on you" he said "Fool me twice, shame on me!"

"What's the status of our IT security?" Reed asked

"The breach has been contained" an officer explained "apparently they were trying to hack our system from the airship itself"

Reed walked towards a series of monitors portraying different areas of the compound. Apparently, something weird was going on at the landing site were the Shera was stationed but the vessel was the last of his concerns.

He walked back to Brad

"I'll tell the squad at the landing site to remain on standby status. They won't go anywhere anyhow!"

"What about the situation in the detention wing?"

"Both intruders are isolated and we are recalling every detachment to converge on their position" an officer announced

"We won't be hacked again, right?" Brad asked "If something else happens to the IT network…"

"No, Sir" a technician shook his head "Apart from the security protocol, we have complete control over the interface…"

He could not finish his sentence that a quadrant of the dashboard turned red, accompanied by an alarm

"And what is supposed to be that?" Reed asked, alarmed

"Fire in the Security Station at level…" the officer analyzing the cause of the alarm fell silent as soon as he discovered where the emergency was

"What is that?" Reed pressed, raging "Why is this alarm ringing!"

"They have torched the Security Station…" Brad whispered, as General Reed began slowly but inevitably to lose his temper. Images from the displays began whiting out as flames engulfed bigger and bigger portions of the room, eventually wrecking the video recording devices and terminating the feed.

Brad quickly reconsidered his options. The importance of having Reeve Tuesti and his gang into his hands was becoming secondary. The plan was near full completion, lacking just the final push.

'I'm not getting away from here without doing just on thing!' he thought, though. He extracted his handgun and pushed the barrel backwards, lodging a bullet ready to be fired. The bullet with which he would have executed Reeve Tuesti

"General" he said to Reed "I'm going to the detention wing. I'm bringing a detachment with me?"

"Are you insane?" Reed replied

"I know what I'm doing" Brad reassured "Just make sure the doors leading to the cells are closed by the time I arrive there"

"I'm afraid I can't" Reed shook his head

"Well, I suppose that's bad…" he sadly told him.

Nobody expected the pistol to fire. And nobody even expected General Jeremiah Reed to fall on the ground with a huge hole in his forehead, from which blood was oozing out, forming a pool under his head.

Everyone stared at that scene petrified, momentarily forgetting the hell that was breaking loose in multiple points of the facility

"General Reed has produced a disappointing performance today" Brad announced to the astonished personnel in the room "He pays on behalf of everyone here, but I wouldn't sit back and relax if I were you. Get the helipad secured and tell the harbour to get the submarine ready!"

The security crew slowly but firmly reverted back to their own workstation, putting Brad's orders into action.

He made a bee-line for the exit of the Command Centre, followed by his close-protection party. As the doors of the security room closed behind him, he gave instruction to his bodyguards

"Send a message to the forces in Edge to apprehend, arrest and eliminate the General Staff members" he said "Our plan has just reached the final step"

He reached an elevator and entered an override code in the keypad next to the door. The fire alarm had grounded the lifts but entering that command on the small dashboard made the door open and bring the elevator back into function.

As his bodyguard pressed the button of the floor of the detention cell, Brad checked his pistol again, while his bodyguards readied their submachine guns. It would have been a shame to falter on the most climatic event of the day.

In the officer's lobby a door was busted by a sudden explosion. Kewell was hurled away as he stood next to it. He rapidly got back on his feet as Perkins discharged his weapon against the plum of smoke erupting form the disclosed passage. A series of shrieks and cries told him that his bullets had actually hit something about to descend on their position

"Damn it" Sarah swore "they're already here!"

"How about those doors?" Laura asked "Did someone found a way to get them open?"

Evan was pivoting a steel beam found on the floor around the cranny that had been left by a two-closet sliding door after the fire alarm had gone off. He had momentarily left his current occupation as the WRO guards had commenced the assault by forcing their way into the room but apparently they instantly retreated as the salvo of bullets had quickly decimated their vanguard.

Finally, after prolonged efforts, the cranny between the two doors widened and the passage was clear. Evan threw the beam away

"Here it is!" he shouted "Let's move!"

Sarah helped Kewell to get back on his feet

"Come on, you're our medic!" she reprimanded him "We need you in operational"

"I know!" he replied, shaking his head and patting away the dust form his uniform.

Behind them, another cloud of excited voices preannounced the arrival of a further assault. Perkins swung his rucksack before himself and produced a bulky, olive-drab painted object from it.

Laura's eyes bulged upon seeing that

"Do you really want to use that?" she asked, with a bit of apprehension. Behind her, the rest of team was sneaking through the opened door

"I think it's a good chance to put this thing to work, for a change…" Perkins replied.

Laura shrugged, leaving Perkins and his explosive Claymore device at the centre of the room. He activated the triggering circuit and shoot another round of bullets in the direction of the voices, to momentarily repel them as the mine's triggering circuit worked. Then he left following the trail of his teammates, mentally foretasting the havoc that green box would have brought about.

Not that Perkins was a blood-thirsty beast, of course. He simply liked a well done job.

On the landing pad, things were taking a turn for he worst. A WRO soldier, concealed by the smoking wreckage of the infantry fighting vehicle, had loaded a rocket-propelled grenade launcher and aimed at the cowling of one of the engine. The missile took off and left a trail of smoke as it hit the airship with an explosion, nearly dislodging the whole engine. An enormous jolt ran through the frame of the Shera

"FUCK!" Cid shouted, as he had to dive to take shelter from the shockwave and the storm of steel debris projected by the explosion "Unbelievable pieces of shit! That is a fucking low!" he shouted towards the soldiers. They were pounding the outer hull of the vessel with small-arms fire, in an effort to hit the crew firing back with their automatic weapons from portholes at starboard

"Ah damn it!" Cid angrily resumed "If I was looking for a reason to kill these fuckers now I've got one!"

Next to him, Ruding thought that they were lucky that the WRO soldiers had decided just now to use the heavy artillery against them. Apparently, the order of capturing them alive was still in effect

"Did you get the SISF in contact? Or Cade? Or both of them?" he asked to an assistant, who had came on top of the vessel bringing a field radio with him. On the tarmac, soldiers were closing on in, taking repair behind heavy riot shield of mobile barricades

"Not at all" the assistant replied "It's all white noise down there!"

"You'd better get your wits together, son" Cid told him, peeking to fire down at an approaching formation of WRO guards "or I'll kill you and use your corpse as a diversion!"

The radio operator gulped

"Don't worry" Ruding said "that won't happen. But you'd better try again. This time it was just a missile…"

"Just a missile?" Cid intervened, pointing at the burning gash in the hull caused by the grenade. Bullet holes dotted the whole right flank of the ship

"… next time it will be dynamite all around this pad!"

The radio operator nodded. He resumed twitching the knobs of the transmitter as the Shera crew valiantly prepared to fend off another assault.

Behind all his thunderous swearing and trash-talking, Cid only wished that someone down there would emerge alive and with good news. As staunch their opposition could be, it was just a matter of time and their position would have been overwhelmed

'If you don't pop up before my ship is broken apart, kids' he thought, referring to Cade and Yuffie 'you'd better hope these fuckers do kill you first, because I'm going to kill the hell out of you!'

5.

After making contact with Cid and Ruding, Cade and Yuffie finally got to the last level of the detention wing. They had managed to pacifically and bloodlessly subdue the few guards they had encountered on the way, dispatching the freed prisoners up to the landing pad where the battle still raged.

They had not yet managed to get in touch with Evan and the SISF though

"With this pace, we will meet them before finding a clear frequency" Yuffie commented, as she twitched the earpiece she had found for herself

"We're almost here!" Cade said, as he had not even heard her. As soon as they had risen through the levels. Cade was becoming more and more robotic. Yuffie thought it had to do with the high levels of anticipation he had. He obviously could not wait to meet Reeve and see for himself that he was alright.

They finally emerged at the last level. They expected it to be packed with prisoners, just like the others. Instead, an eerie silence welcomed them. Even the booth at the beginning of the row was unmanned, but that could have meant that the personnel manning that floor had simply already escaped or it had been dispatched elsewhere

"Nobody's here" Yuffie scoped the surroundings

"He must be here!" Cade sharply replied. His skin was gleaming with sweat and Yuffie swore she could feel his accelerating heartbeat pulsating as they approached the exact cell where Reeve Tuesti was held.

"Cade" Yuffie tried to ease the pressure Cade was building on himself "he is alright. He may be a bit battered and all but he's all right! Did you hear me?"

Cade stopped his incessant crawling along the flanks of the corridor. He let down his guard for a moment and did something Yuffie did not really expect, not even in her most ludicrous fantasies.

Cade leant on her, closing the gap due to their height difference, and kissed her on the forehead. Yuffie blushed instantly, as Cade resumed his path towards the cell

"What was that for?" Yuffie finally managed to ask

"It was simply a different way to say 'thank you'…" he answered

"Why didn't you just tell me 'thank you' then?"

Cade sighed "I must have told you a thousand times… I wanted to tell you in a way I could show you I still appreciate your help" he said

The reply caught Yuffie by surprise. Giving how tense Cade looked, she did not expect him to pull such a poignant response. She immediately reminded herself of her disposition towards him, and she started to appreciate his gesture from before

"Oh, I see! Well, thanks…" she said with a light but sincere smile "Let's get back at finding Reeve now!"

"Right!" Cade swiftly replied

They resumed their walk along the seemingly endless row of cells. Grated gates went past them as they reached the centre of the level, taking a turn into what was labelled as the 'F' wing

"Cell 59…" Cade counted, peeking at the placards over the cells "55…, 56…, 57…, 58…"

His heart, who was racing at unprecedented rhythms, momentarily stopped as he came to a halt himself before cell 59.

There inside, sat on a bench, stood Reeve.

The momentarily disgraced WRO Director raised his head upon hearing the approaching steps. He was wearing the same blue trousers he wore the day he had been arrested in Edge. He had been stripped of his suit so he had only a dark shirt covering the upper part of his body. The cells must have been quite cold, as the linen from the bed opposite the bench had been removed and placed upon his shoulder.

His eyes, dull and void, lit up upon gazing at the figures who had appeared on the threshold. Despite having lost much of his strength as a consequence of giving up eating due to the tense atmosphere inside the detention facility, he managed to get up and walk towards them

"Cade…" he said in a feeble voice "how could it be…?"

Cade made a step forward, with a smile on his face and a faint laughter forcing its way up to his mouth. Yuffie knew it must have been the way he reacted to situation like these. He wasn't just repressing a laughter, he was also fighting back the tears forming in his eyes

"Uncle Reeve!" Cade finally leapt forward, throwing his arms around him

"Cade, they told me you were dead…" Reeve gasped, as Cade's hold proved to bee a bit too enthusiastic for him. His eyes were becoming awash with tears

"Me? Dead?" Cade replied, separating and silently apologizing for the excessive strength of the hug. He rubbed his eye with the back of the hand "I wasn't dead at all… I was wanted, yes, but not dead"

"So I'm not dreaming, am I?"

"Did they tell you I was dead?" Cade pressed

"Yes, they did" Reeve nodded "You and… Yuffie" he said, turning towards the ninja and welcoming her in his arms as well

"I'm glad you're ok, Yuffie!" he told her

"I'm glad you're ok too, Reeve!" she replied

"Cade" Reeve told his nephew with a reinvigorated sense of urgency "may I ask you why are you here?"

"Oh, I came to pay the bail!" Cade mirthfully replied "It took me some time to collect the money. The judges struck a pretty hefty amount of money, this time…"

"Quit it!" Reeve shut him up "I can only imagine the kind of situation unravelling out there, without you being…"

"Hey!" Cade protested, offended "Next time I'll leave you here…"

"You tell me the same thing about putting me in a retirement home when I'm done, I'm not giving in to your threats…"

In the middle of what turned up to be a family argument taking place in the most unexpected place, Yuffie was waiving her hand as to attract attention on herself. She raised her voice

"Guys, I know you are all excited and all that kind of stuff but I think we should get going!"

"You're right, Yuffie!" Reeve said "Anyway… thanks for coming guys. I owe you much"

"Not as much as I owe you" Cade replied patting on his back "Can you walk?"

"I can be as fit as you" Reeve noted

They finally exited the cell, smiles on their faces. They took a turn towards the exit but the sound of a gun being readied made them stop and freeze on the sport.

Cade slowly turned. His eyes were immediately filled with rage upon lowering his eyes on Brad Clawbourne, who stood right in the middle of the corridor pointing a pistol towards them

"What a nice family reunion!" he grinned "Cade, why don't you ever invite me? You guys seem like having so much fun…"

Cade let the rage wind down in his body

"If you quit shooting at my girlfriends, maybe I could arrange something for you as well… such as a four-way date!" he replied. Yuffie almost stood jaw-dropped. Cade surely was not afraid at allowing himself to humour even the most painful events of his life. Reeve stared at him with amazement too.

Brad laughed "You do sure know how to get past the junk in your life, Tuesti. I acknowledge that". His eyes and pistol turned towards Yuffie

"Look, look!" he exclaimed "The last time I saw you, you were agonizing on the ground with a hole in your belly…"

"I've got more lives than a cat!" she swiftly replied "And someone who cares about me…"

Cade swore he had nearly blushed upon what Yuffie had replied

"Good for you!" Brad then turned his attention to Reeve "And you Reeve? Care to tell me something new? Did you enjoy your stay at the Junon Sheraton"

"You are wasting your time, Clawbourne" he barked "If you have to kill us, do it now!"

"Wait!" Cade intervened, casting Reeve apart with his arm "If he's a real villain, he will tell us why he had orchestrated all this. You obviously did not devise everything by yourself, right?" he smiled

"Your sarcasm is useless, Cade" Brad replied "You have no way to escape the facility, now that the airship that brought you here is totalled and the crew apprehended. You are surrounded, no matter your efforts at digging and escape route. And no, I haven't laid out the scheme all by my own. I just gave my father the idea he put the wheels in motion…"

"And why?" Reeve asked

"You dare to ask, Tuesti?" Brad replied, suddenly grinning his teeth, irate "You and your pack of rats going by the name of Shin-Ra level an entire town by mistake and you forget it?"

Cade and Yuffie turned their heads to Reeve, who sighed

"It wasn't my fault" Reeve replied "And as you said, it was a mistake!"

"A mistake that cost thousands of lives, included the one of my mother and my whole family, except my father? Whose only luck that day was to be out of town on a mission?"

A moment of silence ensued

"Please explain, uncle Reeve…" Cade muttered

"Back in the days before Meteorfall, we were dealing with the AVALANCHE terrorist organization. It was all part of a massive search we… the Shin-Ra infantry Corps was carrying out all over Gaia. Apparently, one of their hideouts was rumoured to be located in the outskirts of Kalm…"

"The place was ordered to be bombed to assist the ground forces" he continued "but the wrong co-ordinates were sent in. And the unmanned bombers, they carpet-bombed the town instead…"

"And then Shin-Ra deported and tortured the survivors, experimenting on them. Just to cover up the whole affair!" Brad shouted, the hand holding the gun falling pray to tremors "Does this sound even remotely familiar to you, Cade?"

Cade had to deal with a sudden lump in his throat as he heard Brad's question. It was true, unfortunately. Brad and Cade had shared a similar fate in their lives. How similar, though?

"It does. Sure, and I'll be a fool to say otherwise. Shin-Ra stuck our lives and took what was most precious to us" Cade calmly replied "Damn it, Reeve! You were dangerous back then…" he added, with a faint chuckle

"What's so funny?" Reeve replied

"Care to share the reason of you laughter with me, too?" an enraged Brad asked too. His face was beyond reddish, in striking contrast with the white knuckles tightly around the stock of the gun

"Nothing, actually" he replied, thumping Yuffie's hand behind Reeve's back. Yuffie fought against the instinct to look divert her look, as she was at first puzzled by Cade's gesture. But as soon as she recognized the cold, sharp object Cade was trying to pass on to her , she immediately went for it

"What about your plan now? Is it going to continue? Does it have any other chapters? Or is it over yet?"

"Of course not" Brad told him "But I'll doubt you'll live enough to see how it will develop…"

"I guess I'll have to spare you the lecture about solving your own issues without taking other people's lives as a repayment…"

Brad laughed again "Like you acted like an angel the day you left Shin-Ra…"

"It was all fake" Yuffie intervened, after shaking off the urge of knowing more about Brad's cryptic references about Cade's past "the survey data, the Mako singularity…"

"You are pretty smart for being a Wutaian dumbass" Brad angrily said, tipping her off "It was fake, from the meteor in the Mythril Desert, crafted in a mine somewhere in Niebelheim, to the Singularity, passing through the Meteor Purification Movement. All made up to bring the WRO into paranoia and use the key figures who stood in my way as scapegoats, all wrapped up in a massive scandal and witch hunt that would have broken the WRO apart… and the world!"

"Well it did not work out to its full extent, I see…" Yuffie countered

"I'm wasting time here…" Brad said, regaining his composure "Cade, say 'hi' to Kayla for me!" he grinned, cocking the pistol

"Strange enough!" Cade replied, unfazed by the taunt "the last thing she told me was to kick your ass for her, instead!"

It all happened very fast then. Yuffie and Cade did not spoke a word between each other but the ninja knew what to do from the moment Cade had slipped a miniature shuriken he had stashed in his pants before descending from the airship. Somehow it got past the initial, shallow search from the guards and Yuffie felt a surge of delight as she finally felt the familiar touch of the tempered steel on the skin of her hand.

The same hand that now was thrown forward at the end of her extended arm, and that opened in time to send the weapon spinning towards Brad.

At the same time, Cade sheltered Reeve with his body. Cade noticed both moves but that only made him less responsive. The shuriken pierced his left eyeball with one of its sharp edges as it reached its target. Albeit not being heavy or the throw being much powerful, Brad stumbled backwards, eventually falling on his back and screaming in agony as blood flowed from his punctured eyeball. He discharged his weapon blindly as Cade, Yuffie and Reeve fled the scene.

They took a turn as they ran past the centre of the level, going for the lift. Brad's shrieks echoed throughout the corridors

"No matter what he's up to" Cade observed "he is, he was and will always be a moron!"

"Can somebody die of a wound like that?" Reeve asked, as they frantically pressed the caller button of the elevator

"Probably" Yuffie guessed "but that guy has a skin as hard as a honey badger!"

A chime informed them the elevator had arrived. The doors slid open and they walked in. The doors closed behind them and the elevator rushed upwards again

"What do we do now?" Reeve asked

"I don't know" Yuffie replied "If the Shera is actually wrecked, I think we are pretty much trapped…"

"Wait!" Reeve shook his head "Are you telling me that you broke into this prison without a plan? Without basically knowing how to get out?"

"It was his idea" Yuffie pointed at Cade. A slightly annoyed Reeve darted a menacing look towards him

"Relax!" Cade assured "I may have not a plan on how to get out from here but the place is falling apart…"

"So?"

"We will try to meet up the SISF headed by Evan" he told him, meddling with the earpiece "…if only I could make it work…!"

"Why don't you turn it on, for a start?" Yuffie observed

Cade removed his earpiece. The led was not lit. He was briefly caught by embarrassment as he promptly switched it on

"Look, Cade" Reeve told him "I immensely appreciate that you came to save me but…"

"Shut up!" Cade cut his sentence "I'm trying to talk here… Evan, do you read me?"

Static came from the radio, but it was soon replaced by a familiar voice

"Cade, please tell me it is you!" Evan begged

"It is me" Cade replied "I've got Reeve with me!"

"Thank the Maker!" Evan exulted "Cade, we have some issues here… and Brad Clawbourne is headed your way!"

"Brad is out of combat! And I guess the Shera being damaged beyond repairs?"

"Precisely" Evan confirmed "The SISF is with me in the main hub of the facility but I don't know how much time we will be allowed…"

"Look" Cade told him "I'm linking up with you. Send an emergency message to any WRO unit outside, except the one in Edge…"

"What?" Yuffie gulped "This is insane. It will turn us into a bird dressed in orange and jumping in front of the hunters!"

"I appreciate the metaphor, but I have to remind you that the WRO is currently split in two. We have a fifty-fifty chance of picking up the right guys…"

"Say eighty-twenty, instead" Evan intervened "the situation is the one of a worldwide mutiny by now!"

"Cade is right!" Reeve thought "We need some allies, and we need a ride…"

"I'll do it then" Evan replied "By the way Cade, I have to give you a bad news. Apparently we have found the Dragonette"

"The what?" Cade asked

"The Dragonette?" Yuffie and Reeve echoed in shock

"The disappeared submarine…" Evan clarified

"Oh, that one" Cade said "Where is it?"

"Right here. It is moored at the harbour down by the seaside…"

Reeve still had to come to terms with what he had just came to know "What the hell is it doing here?" he uttered.

6.

"I won't kill you just because I'm too tired to even harm a tick" Cid shouted ferociously at the address of Cade, who reached for him across the landing pad, holding Reeve with his arm.

The landing pad was more crowded than it had ever been during the whole day. The entire detachment of prison soldiers who were about to seize the Shera had finally surrendered. The request sent by Evan had reached the right ears, in the form of Colonel Zansteid.

The aide-de-camp of Director Reeve Tuesti had taken off from Edge as soon as Brad's henchmen were taking control of the WRO headquarters and had gathered a sizeable fleet of airships with which he had set off to Goblin Island. There he had waited for the situation to normalize but the message from Major Evan Kallstrom had prompted him to rush to their help.

Two airships had landed in two separate landing pads opposite the Shera, and the WRO infantrymen that had rumbled down their ramps had quickly subdued the guards on the opening. Meanwhile even the freed prisoners had reached the surface, showing great prowess despite several days of confinement.

Last but not least, it was the SISF and Reeve himself. The crowd had erupted in a spontaneous applause as the figure of Director Tuesti appeared. He had been briefly medically checked by Kewell upon their meeting in the Command Centre and he had been given the green light, pending a more accurate examination to be held soon

The only unhappy face in the whole crowd was Cid, of course. He was staring at the pitiful image of his wrecked airship, whose right cowling had been torn open and was still spitting smoke while a fire-crew was still dousing the already extinguished fire. Panels had been pried from the frame and bullet holes were ubiquitous

"C'mon Cid!" Cade patted him on the back "If this one is beyond repair, we'll get another one…"

"You just don't understand, don't you?" Cid mumbled, before walking away, followed with the eyes of everyone

"The Shera and its crew surely gave an immense contribution to the operation" Zansteid considered "we'll provide Mr. Highwind with all the assistance we can provide to restore the airship"

"Thank you, Colonel" Yuffie replied "On behalf of Mr. Highwind, who is too unsettled to talk right now…"

"That's Cid" Reeve said "take it or leave it…"

"I'll take him anytime…" Evan smiled

Everyone laughed. Even Cid, in the distance could not be indifferent to the chuckle that had erupted as he turned away from his sorrow-filled inspection and towards the huddle of people sharing a laughter

"Surely if it wasn't for you and Cid, Evan" Cade continued "all of this would not be possible"

"We were just lucky" Evan shook his head "Surely Brad and his associates devised a terrific plan, but it had its weak points and we were able to exploit them"

"You know, the fact that not all of the WRO did immediately swore its allegiance to Brad it's something that makes me feel proud of being human again…" Yuffie mused

"Oh, sure" Cade replied, laughing "that's a really good beauty pageant speech!"

Yuffie's smiled died out instantly, replaced by a contemptuous scowl

"Maybe you forget something, you all" a voice intervened. It was Ruding

"Where were you?" Evan asked him

"Off to check the ship's mainframe" he explained "luckily it has gone through the whole ordeal unscathed"

"What's so important in the ship's mainframe, if I may ask?" Zansteid enquired

"Oh, sure you can, Sir" Ruding automatically stood to attention "We have collected a great deal of data that will support our version when we will confront the General Staff and the populace"

"Such as?"

"Recordings, eavesdropping transcripts, tampered data…"

"Tampered data?" Zansteid frowned "What does that mean?"

"Apparently" Evan explained "we have been given wrong data from the very beginning. Members of the Scientific Department have modified the figures we have collected from our surveys on the Singularity. Not everyone of them of course…" he added, as he glanced over to Cade, who looked just like someone who was about to shout someone's innocence. He did not, eventually

"So, if I've understood correctly" Zansteid guesses "the Singularity is a hoax"

"It could be" Ruding nodded "but we still have to analyze the bulk of them"

"I see…" Zansteid said, staring down on the floor

"And there's more!" Ruding added

"Like what?"

"The Dragonette…" Evan told him

"The Dragonette?" Zansteid uttered, in disbelief "Have you found it?"

"Yes, but it's gone again" Cade shook his head "if I got the picture clear…"

"Where to?" Zansteid asked again, losing his composure

"It matters little, right now" Reeve intervened "If we don't unite the WRO again, whatever Brad will do next it will be devastating again, regardless of our efforts to contain it…"

"Well said!" Yuffie agreed "By the way, don't tell me Brad is still…"

"Alive?" Cade terminated for her

"I'm afraid he is" Evan told her "Right, Colonel?"

Zansteid nodded "Our squads are patrolling and searching the compound room by room. There's no sight of him yet…"

"He has probably boarded the Dragonette" Cade said "now that he's got a patch on his eye he'll be perfect for the playing the pirate" he added, looking at Yuffie with a mixture of pride and amazement

"It was a lucky shot" Yuffie shrugged

"I prefer my opponent half-blind" Reeve intervened "it's easier to trick him!"

"So where are we heading now?" Evan asked "Edge?"

Zansteid and Reeve exchanged a brief look, then they nodded in unison

"We'll have to be careful anyway" Zansteid warned "although I have the feeling that we will be warmly welcomed"

"The only thing we'll have to take care of is the General Stuff…" Evan said

"Ah, just a bunch of grey-haired crooks…" Cade dismissed

"Not if they will hole themselves up inside the HQ with a fully equipped bunch of followers…" Yuffie countered

"We will see once we will take care of that matter, which will be soon. Now all you have to do is, in my humble opinion, take a rest" Zansteid instructed them

"I think I agree with him" Reeve concurred "you both look strained"

"Strained?" both Yuffie and Cade replied at unison

"Come on" Evan invited them "I've got your bunks ready on the airship over there. Get some sleep and once we'll reach Edge you will be ready to join the bandwagon once again"

"Ah, this is a conspiracy" Cade whined, as he was pushed away from both Zansteid and Reeve and towards the airship, along with Yuffie

"I could use some rest" Yuffie thought instead

"Hit the bed and you'll change your mind instantly, believe me"

The three of them jogged among the people occupying the space: WRO soldiers, prison guards being gathered at the centre and counted, former prisoners being treated or who simply stood there helping their comrades, and the huddle of black uniforms of the SISF operatives who were simply loitering around checking their equipments. Sarah waived at them once she caught them with her eyes. A low, rising sound over their heads was announcing the arrival of a third ship, currently hovering in the sky over them and manoeuvring to find his place to land.

It was a reassuring sight. At least to Cade, who enjoyed what it looked like the fruits of a risky guess and a haphazard plan. But it did not matter now. It had worked out indeed

"Man" he whispered "today we did something great…!"

"We did it" Evan nodded "but I wasn't really that confident, I have to admit. At least not until I finally saw what we were really capable of!"

"I bet you finally enjoy being on the field, right Evan?" Yuffie asked

"Well, a walk out in the fresh air with a gun in your hand surely makes your job more interesting"

"I'll take it as a 'yes' then…" Cade poked at him

"Hey, I'm not into stunts like this. Not for quite some time, at least…"

They laughed as they approached the ramp of the airship that would have taken them aboard and, then, to Edge

"Well, here you are. Now get onboard and don't make us worried no more. Do something other than running around…"

"I know" Yuffie told him "something that pertains being laid on a bed"

Probably, the ninja was not even aware of the double-entendre she had unintentionally just crafted on the spot

"Wow" Cade whistled "did you really say that?"

Yuffie looked at him with a puzzled face, before realizing what Cade was talking about. She blushed instantly and to the highest degree she was allowed to blush

"Pipe down, Yuffie" Evan grinned "I recommended the crew to get you separate bunks…"

"And right when I thought things would have turned out interesting…" Cade replied, insincerely beaten down by the revelation

"I think I'll go to sleep in a minute" Yuffie finally resolved

"Good for you" Evan greeted them, before stepping back in the direction of the Shera "See you in Edge. And behave!"

They waved at each other for a couple of seconds. Then Cade and Yuffie looked at each other. Cade was somehow trying to restrain a fain chuckle

"What's so funny, now?" Yuffie asked

"Nothing, really" Cade shook his head "I think we had our fair share of excitement for today…"

"Hey, if that's a joke I'm…" Yuffie protested

Cade nearly pressed his finger against her lips, in an effort to silence her. It worked though, as Yuffie finally relaxed, letting her arms dangle along her sides. After a beat, they proceeded to board the ship

"It won't be the same as being in the _Shera_ , but it will do…" Cade observed

"Oh, a bed is a bed" Yuffie replied "more or less…"

"You were great down there" Cade abruptly changed the subject "I really mean it"

"Oh" Yuffie paused "Well, thanks. You did good too!" she said. Then something strange happened in her brain. Her speech neurons rushed to search for something to say, like it was the most urgent thing to do in the whole world. She regretted the result of the search as soon as the words came from her mouth

"Kayla would be proud of you" she finally said

'Why on Gaia? WHY!' she cried in her head, as she stood watching hapless, waiting for a reaction from Cade's side. If there was even a flicker of joy, her words made sure it was swept away. Yuffie knew that, even if the signal he was sending her were not so evident

"I… think so" he finally replied, his voice far away from the one he had spoken with seconds before "She would be proud of you, too…" he added, nodding. Then he rushed inside. Not running, but with a pace that suggested impatience and urgency to shelter himself away from the world. Yuffie decided to mend her mistake, at the cost of making a bigger one

"Cade wait!" she ran after him, nearly grabbing him from the rim of his shirt. He stopped and turned, feet on both the ramp and the floor of the cargo bay. Busy crewmembers were running around them carrying out their tasks at hand

"I'm sorry, I really shouldn't have said that…" she begged him. Her eyes were wide open, almost gleaming in the light of the afternoon. Cade took a moment to lose himself in those dark, brown eyes staring at him. Yuffie somehow did the same. She could not think of anything else but imaging all the things those green eyes had seen. She reminded herself of the things Reeve had told her, of the pain and joy they had shared so far and she wondered how come so little things had happened in such a small amount of time

'If only there was a simple way of doing this' she thought 'Instead I keep him reminding of… her!" she sternly scolded herself

"Hey, are you with us?" Cade's voice dragged her back on earth

"I'm sorry, Cade" she pleaded again "I have the annoying habit of talking before thinking!"

"Don't be too nasty with yourself just for that!" Cade reassured her

"Are you serious?"

"Listen" Cade patiently explained "I know what you mean. And, yes… it hurts. And a lot. But I think you already know that, don't you?"

Yuffie nodded

"We have to carry on" he told her "what happened has already happened. And, unfortunately, we can't change a bit of it…"

Yuffie marvelled at the fact that his voice did not crack

"The only thing that matters now" he said, throwing his arms slowly but firmly around her "is that we are all right… that you are all right!"

Yuffie responded at his gesture by grabbing his shoulders from the back and gently resting her head on his breast. She felt a great relief upon his words. She couldn't ask herself if those last words were a hint to something, though

"Thanks Cade!" she said "That means a lot to me!"

"You're welcome" he said seemingly detached all of a sudden

"Let's go and get some rest now, ok?"

"Sounds good…" he replied, squinting his eyes and pinching the nose. Apparently something was causing distress to him

"Are you all right?" Yuffie asked, alarmed by his gesture

"It's nothing…" he automatically replied, although the reality was far from it.

A sudden ache had taken his head. He felt like his head had been caught in a vise and a blacksmith was slowly but inevitably closing the gap between the two pieces.

Suddenly he felt like he had to puke, albeit it had been ages since he had last had a meal. His head started spinning around like mad as he began to lose sensibility at his hands.

His vision began to blurry and all the sounds around him felt like an indistinct mass of noises, unintelligible one from the other.

He faltered backwards and landed on the cold floor of the cargo bay.

Crash landed was the right word though. He felt a sharpening pain running all along the face from the check that hit floor. It was the last thing he felt before slipping again in the realm of unconsciousness again, while a blanket of heat crawled on him, covering his skin with a layer of sweat.

That, and Yuffie reaching for him and begging him to wake up and calling for help.


	21. Edge (III)

EDGE (III)

1.

Cade expected his eyes to meet the pale and pristine environment of a hospital room, like it happened before, in Gongaga. He hoped this time he would have been spared by the vision of a broken-hearted Yuffie sitting next to him.

He quickly regained full consciousness and began to feel his arms and legs once again. His brain turned on and briefed him on the last developments and happenings. It was at first the raid on Junon Prison, then the welcomed discovery of his uncle Reeve sound and safe and, lastly, his ungracious fall on the floor of the airship about to ferry them back on Edge, for reason unknown.

According to his predictions, he should have been in a hospital in Edge, or maybe in the WRO Headquarters' infirmary, provided WRO forces had managed to reoccupy the building. There was only one way to know it.

He stood up, amazed at how lively he was after what appeared to be quite a long and deep slumber. Usually he got one of those nasty backaches or headaches when he used to stay in bed more than the doctors usually prescribed to the general populace but this time it appeared that if little did good, too much did better, as the elders said.

The only fact was that he wasn't in a hospital.

He wasn't anywhere on Gaia, now that he looked better outside the large window that stood over the bed where he had woken up. Outside there was literally nothing. Just a blinding glow of bright, pale light. He sheltered his eyes as he turned them to the interior of the room

"It's useless that you gaze outside" a soft, calm and merry voice called at him "there's literally nothing out there!"

He turned towards one of the corners of the room. The bedroom was hauntingly familiar. Then he realized.

This was… home.

And he knew the girl sitting on the chair at the corner. His eyes bulged

"Where am I?" he asked

The girl seemed offended

"Where am I?" she replied, puffing "Is that really what matters you the most? As if you didn't know it already…"

The auburn-haired girl, wearing boots, heavy-duty trousers and a denim jacket, was right. Cade had woken up in his old house in Icicle Inn. The one he had already visited in some kind of Mako poisoning-induced dream before landing in the Northern Crater. He wondered why he kept visiting this place in his dreams. And why he kept meeting her

"… nothing. Not a greeting, not a 'Hi, Jessie, it's been a while' and so on" the girl kept complaining "I wonder what she finds so interesting in you… I mean, you are surely interesting but sometime you are so clueless and play dumb for no reasons at all!"

All the emotions he was feeling, all at once and one the opposite of the other one, had the unexpected effect of relaxing him as he stared at Jessie, the girl sitting on the couch. She was the girl whom he had fallen in love a decade ago while accidentally stumbling upon her in Midgar. The girl who had rescued him from his self-neglect while he was bossed beyond human limits in the Shin-Ra infantry.

The girl who had given up her life trying to prevent the infamous pillar of Sector 7 to be demolished, crushing every inhabitant of the slums below. Her efforts were in vain, though. She and the rest of her party only managed to delay the demolition, enough to save only a handful of people

"Hi, Jessie" he finally said, with a smile "it's good to see you again!"

Jessie's tirade came to a halt

"About time!" she laughed, as she stood up and walked to the bed, sitting right next to him and landing a kiss on his cheek. Cade returned the kiss and wrapped his arm around her shoulder

"Look at you" she said "you did become really a tough guy. All busy saving the day and stuff. Oh God, I'm really proud of you!" caressing his face. Her touch was real and true, too much for all of this to be just a dream. It wasn't just the touch of her fingers on his skin, it was also about the warmth he felt through the contact with her body. It was a strange and inexplicable situation, but he let his heart guide his actions and stuck up even more to Jessie, who appreciated his returning the affection

"This is like…" he observed, caressing her back through the denim jacket

"… the same exact thing I wore the first time we met" she confirmed, resting her head upon her shoulder "I mean, without you toting your rifle around…"

"Not that I liked it…" he sighed

"I knew that, otherwise I wouldn't have accepted your date"

"Why on Gaia did you say 'yes' that time?" Cade wondered "That it's still a mystery to me…"

"Don't be so harsh with yourself. You were pretty good-looking back then" she explained "I mean, now you're even better, honestly. But you looked so nice as well and I was, you know, looking for some company too… " she smirked "Well, then why did you asked me out?"

"You were…" Cade felt a lump in his throat "You are the most beautiful human on Gaia, Jessie. I realized it only when it was too late…"

"It's not like that" Jessie shook her head "After our first date in the bazaar in the slums of Sector 7 and after getting to know you better I realized that you were a broken soul searching for a way to mend yourself. I thought I could help. And I gladly did it. Despite our… argument I left this world with a smile thinking that I had the chance to meet someone like you"

Cade nodded. Jessie's words were something he could barely be able to listen to. Tears began to show up, suspended on the brim of his eyes

"I'm glad you did it, too" he smiled

A smile grew on Jessie's face, light rays from the window revealing a tip of blushing racing to her face. Then the joyful light in her visage quickly faded away, trading places with a mask of sorrow. She bowed her head down

"It was my fault all along" he finally confessed "I was so selfish at the time that I didn't wanted you to lose you. You were too precious to me and I really did not wanted you to leave me for any kind of reason. But you did the right thing by facing the Shin-Ra and preventing the pillar to be brought down. History proved it. Sometime I really wished I was there too, at least we would have died together doing the right thing…"

All of a sudden, Jessie detached from the embrace and promptly slapped him. Cade leant backward as he uttered a faint shriek, massaging the hit cheek with his hand

"What was that for?" he asked

"Don't you ever dare to say something like that again!" Jessie bitterly hissed "Look at yourself! Look at the world around you! Look at everything you did while you were alive and while you were looking for your place in the world. Don't you think that every life you touched with your being is worth someone like me passing away?"

"I…" he uttered

"You lifted the spirit of someone like me, an orphan girl who partook in the activities of a clandestine guerrilla movement, a girl who was so sick of the world around her and who thought that the only way out was violence. Do you think it is really that easy?" she continued, in the same stern tone of voice "You don't think about how many people you saved, even by doing nothing at all. At least that's what you think…" she paused "The world needs people like you, Cade. Do you realize that? Can you imagine how good you did to the ones around you?" she added, this time in a more loving tone with his face between her hands

So, it was that. It had nothing to do with his memories of his old house in Icicle Inn. Maybe it had nothing to do with that girl, Jessie, too. It was just a matter of going past certain barriers he had always lived with, walls he had built around himself. Namely, the fact that he had always held all the losses he had endured in his life as an excuse for his selfish and reckless behaviour. And for all the obstacles he erected every ime someone tried to reach out to him

"You can do a lot for the ones you love, and for the ones who love you. You still can do. Do you understand that, Cade?" Jessie asked him

Cade paused and thought for a while. His eyes rested on Jessie for a while. Albeit her apparel was as random as ever, she did look good. Fond memories of the time spent with her came to the surface, but they were just that. Memories.

"It's reality that matters, now" he whispered, more to himself than anything. Jessie must have heard him though "I've been given a third chance and I'm here to take it"

"Exactly" she said, as her face regained that sweet expression she had always had when Cade secretly brought her to surface to watch the moon at night, climbing through passages normally secluded to civilians. What a risk they took those times, but it was well worth it

They were just memories.

"I love you" he told her.

But distractedly. Just like an actor trying to memorize a line on a script. Because eventually it was a memory too

"Me too" she nodded, kissing him briefly "And not only me. Don't worry about what you did in your past. Don't let bad things haunt you, just turn them into something that can give you strength through the hardship you face"

Cade shook his head

"I don't want you to be just a memory" he told her "It's not right, At all!" he added, while snorting to fight back the urge to cry

"I've been a monster" Cade was crying by now "an ungrateful, selfish, self-entitled monster"

"You are Cade Tuesti" Jessie shook him "you are a stubborn, proud, extraordinary and handsome guy. I would bet my earthly life on that, if I had one… And you don't have to let go of me. Not completely. You just have to bear in mind and… here" she said, placing a hand over his heart "that there are some people watching you even if you can't see them, and who care for you even if you can't feel their touch…"

Cade nodded. Tear ran down his face. He wondered if someone else had told something like that previously. Maybe someone really did, but he did not pay attention to it. It was something that really made him think about the way he had let events take control of his life.

A knocking sound on the door woke him up form his trance. He turned his head, rather alarmed

"Relax" Jessie said "It's just someone who wanted to see you. Shall we let her in?"

Her?

Without Cade uttering a single door, the heavy wooden door opposite the bed slowly swung open.

A scorching, invisible and intangible gust swept across the room. On the threshold, stood the most beautiful human being that had ever treaded on Gaia, and possibly the Lifestream. Actually, Jessie was good-looking too. But unfortunately, the twist of the events had taken her life when she was still too young for her beauty to be compared to the one of a more… mature woman. So for the first time in his life, Cade was forced to put the beauty of a girl before another one. A dreaded task for every man on earth, but it was the most logical thing to do.

Kayla moved across the room towards him. The blonde, tall girl was dressed in a long blue dress. Her eyes where bluer than ever. They looked like the sky in a clear day of either winter or summer. Her long hairs were braided in a tail that nearly reached halfway her bare back.

Cade was left speechless. He knew that dress.

"She's beautiful" Jessie too couldn't look away "Really, she is… an angel!"

But again it was a memory. That thought only made matters worst

"I can't…" he shook his head, as Kayla smile melted his hear and his will to carry on "I just can't…"

"Cade" Kayla exclaimed, as she reached for him and knelt down, holding his head between her hands. Cade was almost too shaken to dare to look her in her eyes

"Sorry if I show up like this but I really needed to see you" she said, as she was evidently resisting the urge to cry too

"Please make it stop!" Cade uttered, as he sobbed. Their arms reached for each other as they both shared a weep

"I'm sorry for doing this to you" Kayla's words dodged the tears "but I need to tell you I'm so proud of you…"

 _Kayla would be proud of you_

"Just hold on a little bit more…" she continued "Do it for me!"

"I'll sure do!" Cade managed to reply. Behind them, Jessie was in tears as well. Her sobs made the both of them turn towards her

"I'm sorry" she replied, a laughter breaking her tears "but I did not expect Cade to show up with someone like you…"

"Well" Kayla said "you don't look bad yourself either"

"Oh, come on!" Jessie replied "You are too kind, that's it!"

Kayla erupted in a laughter, the same laughter that delighted him so much when they hanged out together.

But that was a memory. As bad and awful as it sounded.

Cade was laughing too. Being in his own bedroom with two former girlfriends was the nightmare of every male individual. But this was far from being a nightmare. It was one of the most beautiful dreams he had ever had. Safe, sound and surrounded by the two girls who had showed so much love to him. He soon wished he could stay there forever.

He grew worried though as Kayla's endless laughter suddenly died away, as if something suddenly bothered her.

"Hey, is everything all right?" he asked her

Kayla slightly shook his head. She brought a hand to her mouth and she wiped away a speck of blood from the corner of her mouth. The speck was quickly replaced by a small river ob blood which soon reached her chin. Kayla breathed out, as something had sucked out all her air from the lungs.

Cade quickly rushed to her aid as she knelt down the floor, eyes wide open in shock. He looked up to Jessie

"It's all a memory now!" the girl shook her head, sad beyond everything else.

And then, everything he had pent up within himself up to that moment broke loose in an instant.

He woke up.

2.

Cade bawled out loud as he sprung from the bed. A sudden pain ran through his spine as he bent his back perhaps too abruptly. He must have pulled something inadvertently in the past few days.

He threw the blankets away as a hot cloak descended on him. He wiped away the swat on his forehead. He did not feel ill, so the heat was probably due to the warm temperature of the air in the room he had woke up in.

Where was he, by the way? His last memory was of himself falling down in the loading bay of an airship. Somebody had maybe taken him to a hospital then. But the sight around him didn't match the one of a hospital enclosure at all.

A large window over the bed was shedding the light of the late afternoon inside the room. He rose next to it and took a look outside. The familiar landscape of Edge unravelled before his eyes. Ok, he was in Edge, and the town looked like it was running normally. No battle sounds, no fires burning, nothing even suggesting a small-scale disturbance. If the WRO had regained control of its headquarters, it must have happened bloodlessly and with the support of the population.

Still, it didn't know where he was precisely. The room, filled with wooden furniture was not familiar at all. He noticed a framed picture on a bed-side table and rushed to take a look at that. There were four people in it, a young man with spiky blonde hairs flanked by a black-haired woman roughly as young as him. Two children stood at their feet, a boy and a girl. Although the guy seemed a bit distant and broody, the whole bunch looked like an undisturbed and unworried family. Although young, the black-haired girl emanated a motherly affection that could be told by the picture itself.

Cade could not feel a fit of emotion upon looking at that picture, especially after the dream he just had. He soon got caught by a panic attack then: what if something had happened to him and unknown circumstances had forced him to take shelter and break in into a house of perfect strangers, a family, on top of that. With children!

The chain of ever growing worries was suddenly broken when the door shut open. Cade was ready to both face a tough-looking blonde or to offer a valid excuse to his wife or girlfriend. It wasn't the case, as the face of the woman opening the door was a friendly and a familiar one

"You woke up at last" Yuffie exclaimed, without concealing her relief "Are you all right? I heard you screaming…"

Cade was baffled by a subtle change in Yuffie's figure. She had temporarily discarded her hair-band and now her hairs looked longer, as they dangled freely barely over her shoulder. That, and the long, white silky dress she wore made her look like a whole different persona.

"What happened to your hair?" Cade asked

"Oh, you noticed them?" Yuffie blushed, passing a hand through them "That's sweet of yours! That also means you are fine, then" she said, delighted

"My head!" Cade whined as he felt his head being suddenly shrunk by an invisible wrench

"You must have slept way past your allowed time" the ninja told him, walking up to the bed. She knelt next to him "How are you feeling? You must be tired…" she asked.

Cade stared at her, the light from the window still managing to illuminate her face despite the late afternoon. He wasn't used at all to Yuffie carrying her hairs loose, but he liked it eventually. He liked Yuffie, to be honest. He liked that tiny, feisty ninja with the biggest heart and soul on the whole world and as he silently gazed upon her smiling face, he couldn't think anything else but how happy he would have been once things would have finally settled down and finally have the opportunity to spend some time with her, with no hassles of worries from the world around him

"I'm fine indeed" he said, finally "The headache will fade away, eventually. I'm not sure what happened, though"

Yuffie smiled again. One more smile and Cade would have jumped in her crushing her body in the heartiest hug he could give. Was he high on some kind of medication still running through his veins?

"You passed out just after boarding the ship that brought us here" she explained "A medical staff brought you straight to the WRO Headquarters' infirmary once we landed, but thankfully it was just a nasty case of exhaustion…"

"Exhaustion?"

"That, and some kind of hangover from Mako poisoning" she added, with a severe look on her face. Cade felt he owed her an explanation. Yuffie's expression, arms crossed, suggested she expected an explanation

"I was diagnosed with a mild case of Mako poisoning after being too close to the chunk we found out in the Mythril Desert" Cade told her, kind of embarrassed "Apparently it's nothing serious, though. I think it even helped my wounds healing" he said, raising her arms. Yuffie took a look, hardly noticing the almost unnoticeable tracks were the surgical wounds stood. She took him by the hands as she raised and gently twisted his limbs to check them out throughout. She produced a nod of approval, and let them fall on the bed

"You luckily got away with that. Cade, next time you get some kind of freaky disease, I'd like you to tell me!" she sternly said

"I know… I meant to tell you that but…" Cade uttered, trying to come to a valid explanation for his silence. For the first time since he had met her Cade felt genuinely guilty for having kept something hidden to her "… I didn't realize it was important to you!" he finally said

"Well, now you know it is" Yuffie nodded. She grasped his hand once again, letting silence fill the room as they watched themselves in the eyes. Maybe it was something in the air but Cade felt uneasy as he tried to withstand the ninja's look, who on her side seemed to be amused by the situation. It was quite a feat actually to keep the focus while staring at this never seen before version of Yuffie. Not that she wasn't cute while dressed in her fighting apparel or in a soldier's outfit, but the long dress she wore pulled out the womanly side he had never had the chance to tale a look at

'I must be very tired if I'm thinking this…' he thought to himself

"Don't you want to know where you are?" Yuffie asked, breaking the standoff

"Where am I?" Cade said, obliviously "Oh, right! Where am I? Why are we in this place? And…" he looked back at the picture on the bedside table "do they know we are here?"

"Relax" Yuffie laughed "The doctors suggested to keep you in the hospital overnight to see how the situation would have evolved but I told them 'nah', and with the approval of Reeve we decided to keep you in a place where you would have forgot your duties as a reinstated WRO officer. At least for a while…"

"Reeve!" Cade whispered "How is he?" he asked, alarmingly

"Fine" Yuffie assured him "Just fine. Reeve is just, fine!"

"And what happened to the General Staff? What happened when WRO forces landed here in Edge?" Cade kept asking, almost as hectically

"It went like that: your uncle was celebrated like the messenger of the Maker on Gaia and the General staff, upon seeing the overwhelming support he had with him, raised the white flag almost instantly… bloodless as it could be" she concluded, swinging his arm as to catch something in the air.

Cade whistled before falling backwards on the mattress again

"That was close…" he said "but I'm glad everything and everyone's ok! Wait, you still have to tell me if those guys" he pointed at the picture "knows that we are squatting in their premises or not…"

"Chill" Yuffie reassured him again "We are not squatting at all Chances are that those 'guys' are close friends of mine who happened to be out of town while the whole affair was going on. When I had to look for a place to spend the night, I made a call and by careful and pondered negotiation, I managed to have the whole household almost as long as we needed. And for free!"

"Did you threatened them?" Cade launched her an inquisitory look

"Is it a way to say 'Great job Yuffie. Quit the ninja bullshit and get into real estate dealings'?"

"Sort of…"

A thud erupted as Yuffie slapped him on the chest. Cade bent as the hand impacted on his body, jolting on the bed

"That's exaggerated!" Yuffie protested

"That was unexpected…" he countered, coughing

"Look" Yuffie changed subject "the landlady runs a bar on the ground floor. I was getting something to eat ready. Are you hungry?"

"What time it is?"

"Nearly eight in the evening…"

"How long did I sleep?" he asked

"Something like…" Yuffie gestured as she did the maths "twenty-four hours straight?"

"Oh, boy…" Cade sighed

"Seemed like you needed all of them" Yuffie replied "But you better get up, or you're going to grow bed sores…"

"Whack" Cade sprung up from the bed, sniffing his armpits. He wasn't stinky as a skunk but he could do better "Did those friends of yours told you it is ok to use the bathroom?"

"Of course. Get your clothes changed while you're there. Reeve insisted in having them sent here for you"

"Good, then" Cade finally stood up

"Did you sleep alright?" Yuffie then asked. Cade stopped in the middle of the room

"I guess… did I do something wrong in my sleep? Like sleepwalking or chewing the blankets?" he asked with a chuckle

"No, no… not. Nothing at all" Yuffie shook her head "Now go and get a shower. Supper will be ready any minute"

"Ok, then" Cade resumed walking towards the bathroom but he stopped at the threshold once again. He turned towards her once again

"Yuffie…"

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry if I made you worry" he apologized "You've been… you are very kind with me but honestly I feel like I'm giving nothing back to you…"

"Cade!" Yuffie exclaimed, taken by surprise by his words. It wasn't true. It wasn't true at all. Yuffie could have kept being kind forever without getting anything back and still be happy to be next to someone like him

"Cade, I'm doing this because… not because I'm expecting something in return but because I like being of help!"

Yuffie. Ninja warrior and Princess of Wutai. Mostly Princess. Mostly dearest human being on Gaia.

Cade lowered her head. Yuffie took his hands in hers

"Now go get a shower. I can't have dinner with someone like you. Not if you stink like a stale closet…"

Cade laughed "Ok, sounds like you are mad at me for neglecting my hygiene. I'll get myself clean!" he said, before winking and disappearing in the corridor, followed by Yuffie's smiling eyes.

As the sound of water running in the tub came to her ears, Yuffie sat on the bed and started caressing the mattress, right into the depression left by Cade's weight.

He did not sleep fine. Not entirely, at least. As she had woken up to get a glass of water from the tap at the counter down below, she was startled by a sound coming from Cade's room.

She had leant her ear against the door and could tell that Cade was indeed crying. She had quietly opened the door, allowing a narrow cranny to take a look inside the room. It was a desperate crying, like the one who is recalling a memory of someone lost, and that made him cling to the blankets so fast that she feared he would have ripped them apart.

It wasn't hard to tell who he was thinking, or perhaps dreaming about, the ninja mused. She managed to keep the body-shaking sobs at bay before standing up again and proceeding downstairs.

Yuffie had failed in her intention to keep Cade and his mind away from the worries of their job. While they were having dinner, he had poured down so much questions that Yuffie for a moment thought she was about to loose her appetite. After threatening him to take the food away from the table and a few more teasing by Cade, they were finally done eating.

Cade had volunteered to clean up all by himself but Yuffie vigorously turned down his offer. She insisted in having him go straight to bed and get some more sleep, this time respecting his natural circadian cycle. So Cade gave attempting to at least clear the table and walked upstairs, after bidding Yuffie goodnight

"Don't complain that nobody helps you, then" he called as he was nearly at the top of the stairs

"Do you want me to tuck your blankets in?" Yuffie mocked him

"Only if you let me give you the good-night kiss"

Yuffie gulped. She would be actually keen to accept that proposal. She shook her head. Could it be that she was so… desperate?

"In your dreams, perhaps" she replied instead "Good night, lover-boy!"

"Good night, sweet princess" he told her, a giggle echoing as he flew to his bed

Yuffie got over with the chores in less than five minutes, since they had not messed with the kitchen that much. She was feeling pretty tired herself, so she resolved to have a shower and then hit the bed straightaway. Once the hot water from the bathtub hit her skin she felt ten times more sleepy and she ultimately felt so weary she did not even had the will to think of anything but crashing the mattress. It was bed time, full stop.

She donned her nightdress, some shorts and a clean shirt and walked towards her bedroom. She stopped as she felt the stingy feeling of a cold draft on her bare, moist legs as she walked in the corridor. Somebody must have had left a window open before falling asleep, and she guessed easily who.

She noticed the door to Cade's bedroom was not completely closed so she grabbed the doorknob and naturally threw a glance in the room through the slit. Maybe Cade was still half-awake. Maybe it was a chance to bid him goodnight a bit more properly.

As her eyes rested on the bed she froze, jaw-dropped.

Cade was not there. The linens stood all pleated and the blanket was thrown aside but he was nowhere to be seen in the room. She burst in, alarmed by his absence. The window was open, so she quickly rushed to it and leant out of the frame scoping the surroundings

'What the hell is wrong with him? Is he really a sleepwalker? Or is he just pulling a prank on me?' she thought

"Cade, if this is a joke, it's not funny at all!" she shouted "Come on, I'm tired and I want to go to sleep!"

No answers came, apart from a stray cat meowing

"Cade, whatever we are playing at you won. But please come back inside!"

The view was not the best from that angle, so she unwillingly decided to climb out of the window and reach the roof, from where she could enjoy a better view of the surrounding area.

She finally reached the rooftop, cursing Cade and the sharp edges of the drainpipes as she brushed away the dust she had collected while climbing up the gutter and landing finally on the shingles. She looked around and quickly spotted a figure against the night sky.

There Cade was. He was sitting on top of the roof of a building immediately next to the one they were staying in. The roof was a floor higher so Yuffie had to cut her hand around the gutter pipe once again hoping it would not collapse under her weight.

She finally came within range of his ears. Cad was sitting and staring at the horizon, where giant clouds were heralding the arrival of a storm. A lightning struck here and there as a breeze came blowing from the advancing storm. Yuffie suddenly felt exposed in her light dress while Cade seemed unfazed in his thoughtful expression, seemingly ignoring her arrival

"Cade" she whispered. The last thing she wanted was a quarrel with the neighbours "what the hell are you doing here? I thought I told you to go to bed…"

Cade did not reply. Instead he burrowed his face in his legs. This prompted Yuffie to close the distance between them and crouch next to him

"Cade! What are you doing here?" she asked again "Is everything all right?"

It must have been about the hundredth time she asked him that question, she guesstimated.

Cade raised his head. Contrary to her expectations, it was not reddish and washed with tears. It was a relief to her. She decided to sit next to him, partly to take shelter against the rather cold wind pushed on by the advancing storm in the distance

"Sorry, Yuffie" he finally told her with a smile "I found it hard to sleep…"

"And you had to climb all the way up to here to get some peace?" she replied "You could have turned the TV on, or get a book from the shelves…"

"I know, it's not the easiest place to reach, but the view is something…" he told her "and there's nothing better than the landscape of a metropolis to clear your mind"

Yuffie felt hard not to agree. Surely the bar was not the highest building in Edge but it was tall enough to give a slightly exciting view of the city's skyline. Despite the late hour, lights were still illuminating the underlying pattern of blocks and roads, with the major buildings standing out amongst the others

"Yep" she agreed "the methane gases rising from the waste processing plant in the distance, combined with the layer of carbon monoxide really creates a romantic atmosphere…"

They shared a laughter before falling silent again. Yuffie forgot for a moment she meant to go to sleep instead of catching cold air on a rooftop

"What are you thinking about?" Yuffie asked straightaway. She felt that was the right question to ask, the one which would have provided her the most satisfactory answer

"A lot of things…" Cade replied, leaning backward as to enjoy a sudden gust of wind sweeping the rooftop. Apparently he was resilient to freeze. Being born and raised in a place like Icicle Inn did help. On the contrary, Yuffie had to take shelter more deeply against his own body

"Something in particular?" she asked

"I guess…" Cade replied, after a beat

"Why don't you tell me?"

Cade pointed his arm and finger towards a big, black silhouette which broke the horizon. They were the ruins of Midgar, the metropolis founded by Shin-Ra corporation, developed around a Mako reactor and finally devastated by the Meteor descent and the Deepground conflict

"Midgar?" she tentatively guessed

"Over there" Cade explained "there's someone. Someone I… am very… Oh, fuck it all!" he swore, shaking his head. Yuffie grew a confused expression

"Do you remember when Reeve first told you what happened to my family and how I came to join the WRO?" he asked

"I surely do" Yuffie nodded

"I bet he purposefully omitted a piece of information from the story, right?"

"He did…" Yuffie thought. Actually, even Kayla had told her something about an episode of Cade's life which she did not wanted to give away. She had told her that it had to be Cade the one to tell her about it. Apparently, it was time

"He did not tell me how you joined the WRO…" she remembered "He also said, and also…" she was about to make the name of Kayla but she did not want to touch such a sensitive matter "Reeve told me I would have had to listen that part from you…"

"Aren't you curious?"

"I am, but do you really think I deserve to hear it?" she wondered "It's your life we're talking about…."

Cade looked at her with an expression like 'Do you even care about that?'

"Ok, then" Yuffie shrugged "Let's hear it…" she invited him, hiding her anticipation and eagerness

"Well, as you already know, after Shin-Ra basically killed my family and drove me out of Icicle Inn, Reeve felt guilty about what happened and offered me a place in the Shin-Ra infantry corps. Apparently I fit their requirements, and by a wide margin. To me it was like hopping from the pan to the grill but at least I had a place to stay and I was making a little money. Beside I did not want Reeve to feel even more responsible for something in which he had little or no part in it…"

Yuffie nodded. She leant against his body and rested her head on his shoulder

"Do you want to move back inside?" Cade asked "I know, this is kind of a weird place and the weather is cooling down…"

"No" Yuffie peacefully replied, shaking her head "I like it here… Please continue!" she begged

"Being in Shin-Ra was one the things I've done in my life that I hate the most, actually" he continued "it wasn't just about playing police & thieves, it was much more. It was all about corruption, extortion, grilling people who were just being suspected of having ties with groups carrying out subversive activities and so on… a beating here, barging into private houses there and taking parents away from their children and the opposite. I was acting like a drone, and the worst part of it is that I did not have any other choice… or at least I thought so"

Yuffie felt sorry for him. Reeve had mentioned her the hardship he had gone through while being a Shin-Ra infantryman. She burrowed into him even more as to offer him some kind of comfort

"One day we had to carry out a sting in a place that was believed to be a makeshift depot for a group of eco-terrorists called AVALANCHE, the same that had prompted Shin-Ra to descend on Icicle Inn the day they wiped out our homestead. I was scheduled to take part in that operation but guess what? The place turned out to be an orphanage…"

"An orphanage?" Yuffie exclaimed

"Indeed" Cade nodded "not a fully chartered one of course, but in the slums people had to make do. If somebody offered a roof for children and kids who would have otherwise lived out in the streets, there you have an orphanage. Our commander ordered us to search the spot anyhow. He thought the orphanage was a put on and AVALANCHE smuggled weapons and stuff inside it… it turned out to be a genuine orphanage when we kicked down the door, but we carried on nevertheless…"

"What a bunch of sorry bastards…" Yuffie shook her head "How could someone like you be part of that gang of crooked sons of…"

"I don't know" Cade shrugged "I guess must have been the circumstances. I wasn't a hundred percent myself at the time" he added, sliding an arm around Yuffie, who in turn did the same

"And then what happened?" she pressed

"I caught with my eye a girl sneaking through a backdoor with a crate in her hand. I gave chase to her and cornered her, only to find out that she was only taking away a box of milk bottles, something just as valuable as gold for a place dealing with small children… She was afraid we would have seized them or simply threw them away, and she was probably right!" he cleared his throat "She told me to do my 'fucking' job and either kill or arrest her. I let her go instead…"

Yuffie's eyes widened "Really? You let her go?"

"Right" he nodded "Maybe it was a spontaneous act of rebellion against Shin-Ra or maybe it was the girl herself. I confess that as soon as I looked her in the face I fell in love with her immediately…" he chuckled

Yuffie blushed "Well, how old were you?"

"Eighteen, if I remember correctly…"

"Well, then it was kind of ok to fall in love with a stranger you were giving chase. Especially if she's bold enough to run away in front of Shin-Ra soldiers to take something valuable away from their stinky hands. Very Cade-esque " she giggled, bringing him to smile "What did she say when you let her go?"

"Nothing, I just turned my back on her and walked away. She was probably surprised but I still kept thinking about her. She was quite a pretty lady" he continued "and believe it or, the next day I showed up at that very orphanage, looking for her and also to apologize with the folks running it. When I met her again she reacted pretty badly, she thought I was again up to no good, but somehow I managed to convince her that my intentions were good and I simply wanted to say sorry for what happened the day before…"

"Did she buy it?"

"She did. She probably considered me a weirdo but she appreciated the gesture. We spent the rest of the day mending what Shin-Ra had done to the place. Thank the Maker their supplies were untouched… Geez can you believe it? An orphanage!" he shook his head

"It wasn't your fault" she caressed his back "did you have any other options?"

"Of course" he replied "I could have gone AWOL, never to be seen again. No more soldier shit, no more busting people around and all of that… I had a choice, I simply wasn't brave enough to take it"

They stood in silence again, then Cade continued

"Anyway, things took quite an unexpected turn after that day…"

"Like what?"

"We started hanging out together"

Yuffie whistled "Wow"

"I did not expected either"

"Who was this girl?" Yuffie eagerly asked, prey to her own feisty sense of curiosity

"He name was Jessie" Cade told her "She was short more or less as short as you, had long and silky auburn hair and blue eyes. Oh, and she had a strange and twisted sense of humour. Very stubborn and determined but a bit wimpy at times. An enjoyable girl, overall…"

"Wait, wait, wait… You meant as tall as me, right?" Yuffie enquired

"Do yourself a favour…" Cade contemptuously told her, grinning

Yuffie shook her head "You can be so nasty at times… Go on!" she invited him

"Well once we set the beef aside, she turned out to be a wonderful girl, really. Sweet, compassionate and caring. A tomboy, sure, but with a heart of gold. Probably seeing so much hardship around her spurred her to help those in need. She would sacrifice every atom of her strength in order to get things even the slightest better… I began to cut myself a lot of free time, by bribing my supervisor so he would let me out whenever I wanted. We went out, took ice creams together, all the sort of stuff that two people in love with each other do. I even started helping out at the orphanage. Since she was an orphan too, we found common ground in the loss of our parents. She lost hers at nine in a work-related accident and was raised by complete strangers until she set out on her own.. I never heard her surname, but probably she never had any…"

"In short, I fell in love with her and had the most pleasant time of my life. Of course, she liked me too" he chuckled "I felt like a human being again and I started to think that maybe the world wasn't that bad if people like Jessie existed. There was something beyond my grim existence as a twisted Shin-Ra infantryman and beyond the walls of the shithole Midgar was. It was like having a broken limb mended, and starting to walk again and thinking you could ran a marathon"

Yuffie smiled. They were roughly the same words she had told him when she had found him crying on the bunk of the Shera. She could swore his eyes were gleaming upon that pleasant memory

"And then what happened?" Yuffie asked. Cade's face turned somber again

"When one of the Mako reactor in Midgar exploded, it was clear it was a deliberate attack. When CCTV image of the raid began circulating, I immediately recognized her from the picture" he said "My girlfriend was an eco-terrorist. Thank the Maker nobody in Shin-Ra knew of our relationship otherwise I could have been fucked up for good. I went to check her out but she had disappeared from the orphanage. Somehow I managed to track he on my own and finally arrange a sort of meeting…"

"When we met again, all hell broke loose. I told her she was crazy and she'd better leave town, since the whole Shin-Ra was looking for her and her accomplices. But she was adamant in her refusal to back down and rather face death, if that meant making the world a better place where the children she helped to take care of could grow up. She told that Shin-Ra was a monstrosity and had to be stopped at any cost, and I was the crazy bastard who wanted to leave things as they are because I was so dug in my own self-pity that I could not see beyond my nose. If I wanted to stop her, I should have either killed her or apprehend her right there on the spot. Of course I couldn't do it. But the argument worsened and worsened and we basically split up there…"

"Oh, no…" Yuffie whispered

"Some days later, our commanding officer tells us that we have to take part in an operation designed to protect the installation of demolition charge around the pillar of Sector 7, a scheduled urban renewal operation, they say. We arrive at the pillar but AVALANCHE had preceded us. A fierce shooting erupts. I manage to spot Jessie who despite being isolated and pinned down mows down one soldier after another. I threw caution away and hiding my face I try my best to incapacitate without killing anybody who threatens her"

Yuffie had frozen, upon hearing the dramatic turn of events in Cade's story. She had forgot about everything: her tiredness, the cold…

"When we made contact, she was surprised I came to her rescue. I told her I did that… because I basically still loved her and I wanted her to be safe and all. I tried to convince her… to run away with me. We would have started fresh somewhere in the world… somewhere where we could have put up a… some kind of family…" Cade said, battling the tears eager to drop from his eyes "But it was too late! Her dress was soaked with blood. She had already been seriously wounded but still was all the way into preventing the pillar from collapsing and killing thousands of innocent people. I tried and I tried to… convince her to give it a try and be carried away, be cured somewhere in some run down clandestine clinic and finally leave everything behind… but that everything meant really _everything_ to her, the slums, the people who lived her and the countless people who only wanted to love their special ones and live freely in the name of that love… she would have died taking their place if that meant seeing their faces smiling…"

"Incredible!" Yuffie said in awe, looking at him

"She told me she loved me more than anything else in the world" he shook his head "She told me that three times in a row. But she also told me that every time she thought about it, she also thought about all those people who would be finally free to live, love and be with their loved ones without the threat of Shin-Ra upon their heads. She felt she was… she had the chance to do something for them, and she would have gone past her love for me for that… she said it was the way of the world…"

Yuffie let a tear run on her cheek, as she heard the tale of a young woman sacrificing herself for a higher value: love. It seemed like something out of a fairy tale, instead it was something happened just a couple of years before

Cade brushed his eyes, while Yuffie hugged him

"The pillar collapsed anyhow" he continued "But Jessie managed to tell me one last thing before she disappeared under the rubble. She told me that she would have never stopped loving me, wherever she might end up. And that one day I would have understand everything…"

"Did you?" Yuffie asked

"Not immediately, not" he replied "As soon as it was all over, I suffered from what I think it was a nervous breakdown. The world had first taken my parents away, then my girlfriend. The world, not even Shin-Ra, the whole world. It was me, Cade, against the world. I wandered for three days in the slums, stripped of anything that could identify myself as a Shin-Ra servant. I was blinded by rage, anger, hate and despair. I severed all my ties with Reeve too…"

Yuffie tightened her grasp around him

"Then, I took off and spent the following three years hiding away from anyone I knew, living clandestinely and living off theft, robbery and…" he made a gesture in the air, before letting his hand slap his knee

"That's why you said you had been in prison before…" Yuffie commented

"I did terrible things meddling with the lowest kind of people, and I was ok with that, because I thought that someone like me had the utmost right to do whatever he wanted. I was victimising myself in order to carry on with the things I did…"

"Don't tell me you killed people…"

"I did" he resolutely replied "I… did it"

"How many?"

"Two" he answered "The one was a drug dealer, the other one a smuggler who was trying to con me…"

"Well, not a great loss for the planet…" Yuffie tried to cheer him up, only to realize she had blatantly gone off the tracks

"I don't care!" he shouted "I killed people. I took life away from someone. Did I have the right to do such a thing? Did I? Does anybody have the right? And what if these two people would become three, then four and five and so on, in an endless rampage? And what if the drug dealer had a family back home who simply wished him to stop doing what he did because they loved him? Or did he have children who knew nothing about it and to them he was the world's best dad? I…"

He could not finish his sentence that he burst into tears, arms falling down and bending over his bent legs. Yuffie withheld her own tears, leaning over his back. After a while, he calmed down, his back jolting because of the sobbing

"If I look at myself today, I see someone who is respected and admired because he is someone who does the right thing for the right end. It 's all 'Good job Cade', 'Cade we need you because you're the man' or 'Cade you are a dick-head but you get your man so it's good to be with you'. But if I look at myself I only see someone who is still trying to make up for the terrible things he had done while thinking the world owed him a living" he shook his head "Now I'm here, obsessed with the ideal of saving the world, but I can't even look after the people next to me…"

"Cade!" Yuffie shouted "Don't you ever dare to say something like that again!" She held his face in his arms, forcing him to look her in her own eyes "You are one the greatest man on Gaia. Your capacity for reaching out and helping the ones is beyond my own comprehension. I insist you take back everything you said about yourself…"

"I'm a selfish piece of shit who put other people's life in danger just to feel at ease with myself… there's no need to tell me otherwise"

"Damn it Cade! You sure have a wooden skull" Yuffie bawled "It's not your fault if Jessie did what she did. It's not your fault if Brad shot me believing you couldn't do a thing to help me, while conjuring to take the reins of the WRO! And it's not your fault if… Kayla was brutally murdered by that piece of shit!" she finally cried

"Why you keep acting like this?" Yuffie continued, nearly crushing his face "Why are you so dumb and so violent with yourself? Why are you the first to hurt yourself? Everyone makes mistakes, and even if sounds wrong to you, yours were at least justifiable. At least you tried to atone! You are completely different from the people you… we have to fight!"

"Why?" he asked "What makes you thinks so?"

"Because people like Reeve, who work hard and risked their ass to keep this planet afloat trust you with their life, and you proved them right. Because people like Jessie, albeit aiming for a good greater than earth itself, still pledged to love you even in the afterlife, showing how much you meant to them. Because people like… Kayla" she burst in tears again. Remembering that name was still too much for her "…did the same, may they be damned" she added in a joking tone, still broken by the tears

"And because someone who nearly throws his life away to save me" she continued, leaning against his face, forehead to forehead, dangerously close "is either a moron or is a very special being. And you are special. To me, you are indeed!"

Then it happened. Their lips slowly and gently sealed against each other, isolating themselves from the surrounding world, two bodies and two souls which had finally found each other after a quest where they had stumbled upon joy, pain, life and death. The love flowing between them as they kissed each other and stood together in a gentle embrace was there to provide their body with the warmth they needed against the deteriorating weather and their weary and tormented souls with peace and comfort, after a seemingly endless series of battles which were not over yet.

They slowly separated, as Cade reopened his eyes. It was a brand new Yuffie the one who stood before him, a girl he realized he loved now. A girl who, with a simple trick yet unknown even to the most seasoned magician, had tuned all the sorrow and pain in his body into joy and will to live and fight.

"Yuffie, I…" he whispered. His heart was beating faster than ever. He did not expect this to happen. It was something indescribable.

Yuffie's reaction was equally unexpected and inexplicable

"I… I'm sorry" she uttered. She turned her head away, stood up and ran away, climbing down though the window, leaving Cade alone, still feeling the taste of Yuffie's lips on his own. He stood up and gave chase to her.

Cade was in the corridor, next to the door of Yuffie's room. He knocked, waiting for an answer

"What is it?" Yuffie's muffled voice came from behind

"May I enter?" he asked, excessively politely even for his won standards

"What is it this time Cade? I'm tired, and you should go to sleep too…"

Cade shook his head and decided it was a good time not to take her permission into account. He gently swung the door, standing on the threshold. Yuffie was wrapped under the blankets, head facing away from him

"What is it this time?" he repeated "We just…" he swallowed the words that followed, as he could not still believed that they had actually exchanged a kiss "…did what we did, and you ran away like this. I think you owe me an explanation"

"Do I?"

Cade stepped forward carefully, ready to face any hostile reaction from Yuffie, since he was virtually invading her bedroom. Although she sounded as confused as he was

"Yuffie, if I did something wrong, please tell me. Don't make me do the same mistake again at least…"

Yuffie did not reply. Cade stood there, in the middle of the bedroom, patiently waiting for an answer

"You told me I'm special to you" he continued "Well you are to me. And the last thing that I want to do is making someone special to me feel upset because I did something wrong"

"Cade" she finally uttered "I can't… I just can't"

"You can't do what?" Cade asked, as he walked up to the bed and sat on it

"You were crying last night, Cade" Yuffie turned on the bed and looked at him "You were crying like a baby. It doesn't take a psychologist or a necromancer to tell why you were crying in your sleep… And I was dumb enough to bring it back tonight"

Cade immediately understood. His heart felt a surge of warmth upon Yuffie's display of selflessness towards him. He caressed her through the blankets

"Yuffie, you are so sweet" he said

"You keep thinking about her, about Kayla" she said "Just like on the Shera. You still have to come to terms with that… I don't want to take her place so suddenly. It so wrong and it makes me feel like I'm a second-hand choice"

Cade felt his heart being trespassed by a spear upon these words. He decided to face that matter

"And what I've done up there just seconds ago, it seems like…" Yuffie continued, but she found herself unable to speak further

"Yuffie, it is true" he interrupted her "I won't hide it from you. I still think about her, and I think I will, for a long time. Just like I did with Jessie. Losing someone you love is a hard hit and every time it's different and you never know how to deal with it…"

"You see? I was right…"

"But I have to move forward. We all have. It does sound selfish and all and it may make me look like a womanizer but all I want to do is to be happy"

"And if I found someone to be happy with, or who makes me happy only being on my side, whether it is during a battle or on a rooftop on a cold summer night sharing the most painful memories of my life, I want to take that chance" he added "The people we have lost are dear memories, and they look upon us. But the ones who, luckily, are still here…" he said, caressing her bare arm "are the ones that matters ultimately. It's a world full of uncertainty, and I would gladly be called a womanizer if that means that I'm finally happy with someone like you by my side"

Yuffie said nothing again

"Listen, get some sleep" he finally said "but don't feel sorry for what you did. I… appreciated it"

As he lifted himself, something reached for his hand, pulling him back down. He turned towards Yuffie

"Cade" she pleaded "I don't want to be alone… not tonight"

Cade smiled again. He was brimming with love. He had not felt like that for a long time. It was one of the most beautiful feeling ever

"All right…" he said, while Yuffie threw the blanket aside, inviting him to sleep next to him. Once he settled down, Yuffie threw her arms around him

They looked each other in the eyes

"Yuffie, you won't be my second choice ever" he said "I love you, and that is all that matters…"

"Thank you" she said "I love you too, Cade"

Cade felt like the luckiest man on Gaia as he kissed her again. Yuffie gladly returned the kiss

"Cade, why do you love me?" she asked

"What kind of question is that?" Cade replied, arching his eyebrows

"Just answer…"

"Well, it's kind of difficult" he tried "But I guess it's because you are the embodiment of what's good in this world: beauty, kindness, love…"

"You forgot intelligence! Thanks again!" she falsely protested, only kissing him again

"Jeez, you are never happy. And listen, why do you love me?" he asked in turn

"Do I really have to answer?"

"A-ha" Cade nodded, waiting for he answer

"First of all because you're handsome as fuck" she proclaimed, making him blush "You're the kind of guy I would show to all my girlfriend to make them die of envy, and the kind of guy I would show up home to give my father a hearth attack…"

They both laughed

"And because you are smart, funny and you always seem to know what to do to give me a smile when I need it the most…" she told him, caressing his face

"Cade" she continued "don't let your past decide who you are. But instead let it be the pillar for what you want to be!"

"That's nice" he complimented her "Where did you hear that?"

"In a fortune cookie" she smiled

"Oh, Lord. Where is romance, nowadays?"

"On a bed" she replied "where two young persons have finally discovered they loved each other"

"That surely wasn't from a fortune cookie, wasn't it?"

She smiled, the brightest smile she had ever grown on her face since he had met her. They crossed their arms and slowly slid into a sound sleep as the cool wind of the storm came through the window caressing their tangled bodies.

The world might be in turmoil, but as far as they were concerned, they had found their quantum of solace.

3.

A stray beam of light landed on the blanket next to her head. Yuffie slowly opened her eyes. As she realized the morning light was upon her, she woke up at once.

Her heart began racing fast as she was suddenly grasped by the urgency to get ready and head to the WRO Headquarters as soon as possible to meet up with Reeve and get briefed about the next, and hopefully, final mission.

She stood up and, as her sense sharpened up, she noticed an absence. He must have had got up from before she did. she pulled the sheets aside but allowed herself to lie down on the mattress once again as she recalled what happened. Visions flashed before her eyes so quickly but the sensations were as vivid as the night before.

The flashback spurred her to get ready and meet up with the man he had shared the night with so changed her attire, picking her robes from the chair were they were piled. She thought there was no time to have a shower so she headed straight downstairs, where a clinking sound of cutlery told her that Cade was probably already having breakfast.

Cade.

'I can't believe it happened. Damn it' she thought with a mixture of awe and disbelief, treading on the wooden steps of the staircase. As his name and face echoed in her mind, goose-bumps rose as she recalled thy exact, simple words she told him

 _I love you too, Cade_

A smile naturally grew on her face as Cade finally appeared before her, sitting at the table in the kitchen, picking small bits from a piece of cake on a plate and fiddling with a newspaper. As he heard her footsteps, he turned towards her. His face lit up as he swallowed a morsel of cake

"Hey, there!" he greeted her "Look who got up, at last!"

"You could have woken me up as well…" she said, walking up to the table

"You were sleeping so peacefully…" he explained, as Yuffie stood next to him. She leant and gave him a kiss on the check. It was a small, little gesture, but it bore a complete different meaning now.

Cade grabbed her by the hips with his free arm, bringing her closer and caressing her flank

"Did you sleep well?" he asked

"Well, what do you think?" she countered

"You have slept next to me, gently touched by the cool wind of an oncoming summer rain" he told her, putting another piece of cake in his mouth "On a scale from one to ten I'd give the whole experience a seven… and I'm being humble!"

"Oh, you're being humble! That's astonishing…" she replied, reaching the cupboard and searching through drawers for something that would make her jumpstart her appetite

"Why don't you try this cake? I left some of it in the tray over there…" he invited

Yuffie took a look at a platter on the corner of the kitchen desk. A lonely slice stood there, with fresh marks on the cooking paper suggesting it once belonged to a much bigger chunk

"Hey, did you eat that whole cake all by yourself?" she marvelled

"Point A: breakfast is the cornerstone of the daily intake of food" he said "Point B: I'm hungry and I usually eat a lot in the morning"

"Point C: I might have wanted to try that cake too, and now I have to settle for the crumbles?" Yuffie protested

"Point D" Cade pointed at the fridge "The rest is in the fridge, otherwise it would have melted like snow in the sun. Point E: too much sugar makes you fat…" he said, making a gesture with his finger

"Oh, Lord…" Yuffie sighed, shuffling to the fridge and swinging the door open. The rest of the cake was actually on a dish in the refrigerator. A part of her (the stomach, namely) groaned in relief and in anticipation

"If you start putting it this way" she told him, taking the dish and leaving on the table next to Cade "I'm afraid I'll have to warn you that this relationship has started off with the wrong foot…"

Cade grabbed her by the hips again catching her by surprise and let her slump on his lap, with a faint chirp of surprise from her. Their eyes met, as they stared each other face to face. They exchanged a long and tender kiss

"Well" Yuffie said as they separated "I reckon it's everything all right now"

Cade smiled "I love you" he said

"I love you too" she replied, before reaching again for his lips, much to Cade's delight

"Yuffie?"

"Yes?" she said, adjusting her stance on his lap

"When this will be all over I'm going to quit the WRO" he bluntly told her

"Are you serious?" she said, surprised "Why?"

"I don't want to be on the front line of any undeclared war against anyone or anything" he explained "I'm tired and sick of chasing after bad guys and strange stuff threatening to blow the world away. I want to stop and do something completely different…"

"Like what?"

"Anything that could make me stay with you as long as possible"

"Oh, Cade" Yuffie nearly shed a tear. She hugged him fast, feeling glad that Cade was willing to commit himself to their newly established relationship. It was a bond they had built slowly and around unlikely and tragic circumstances but Yuffie felt so connected to him that anything else meant nothing. And apparently, he felt the same for her

"Maybe your father won't be so pleased with someone like me…" Cade guessed

"The hell with my father! I mean…" she replied, head sunk into his chest "I'll talk him to death if that will mean letting me stay with you. I'll grab him by the throat if that will be necessary…"

"The only thing is" he said, clearing his throat "I wouldn't know where to stay…"

"You'll stay with me! We'll share my place!" she cheerfully replied, without missing a beat, as excitement was getting a hold on her, visions of her future life alongside him tickling her mind

"That would be… amazing" he marvelled "There must be something I can do in return though. I don't want to be an idle guest in your house!" he told her

"Don't worry about a thing! There are a lot of things to do you'll actually repent of having asked…"

"Dusting off the shelves would be enough…" he laughed, prior to lowering his eyes again "Anything but this life! Anything but alone!"

"You'll have the life you want, Cade. I promise it!" she said, her left eye shed a tear "We'll have the life we want. Of course, I'll have my responsibilities to take on but…"

"Are you sure there are no… royal edicts barring you from engaging with a layperson like me?" he enquired

Yuffie shook her head "It's a meaningless detail…" she said "All I want to do is… be happy. And together!"

She kissed him again, with Cade raising his back from the chair returning the kiss. They separated but soon found out they couldn't get enough of just one kiss per time. So another one followed, and then another, their arms roaming over their bodies, trying to express as much affection, desire and love they could without resorting to words.

They separated, nearly breathless

"I love you, Yuffie"

Yuffie smiled, kissing him on the tip of the nose

"It's beautiful hearing you saying these words"

He beamed, then threw a glance over her shoulder "And you know what else is beautiful?" he told her

"What?" she asked, still smiling, her tears dried on her cheeks

"The cake" he replied "which is melting, by now…"

"Oh, shit!" Yuffie shouted, as she leapt from his legs landing on a chair next to him. Thankfully, the cake was still standing perfectly shaped despite the morning heat.

Yuffie and Cade proceeded the have breakfast together. When they were over, they stood up and Cade rushed to take his everyday clothes

"Reeve has sent a message" Yuffie told him as he reappeared "He wants us at the Headquarters right now"

"Well, let's not make him wait more than necessary" he said, picking up a rucksack with his belongings in it "Let's go"

"Let's go!" Yuffie echoed

"What about the house?" he asked "Shouldn't we at least mop the floors or…"

"When we'll get back" Yuffie reassured him.

"All right, then" he said, holding her hand and opening the door giving on the busy street with the other "When we'll get back!"

Other things were meant to happen by the time they would have come back. Cade wished that time could come soon

"I just hope that it'll come soon…" he voiced his thoughts

"Come soon what?" Yuffie asked

"The time when we'll be back!"

Yuffie did not say a word. She simply walked up to him throwing her arms around him.

They separated and exited the house, proceeded by foot towards the WRO Headquarters through the streets crawling with townspeople. Apparently, Reeve was about to start a briefing in half an hour. Despite the roads crowded with folks pouring through the streets for their daily chores and tasks, now that they were now more confident and relaxed after the WRO had taken control of Edge, a single thought roamed inside Yuffie's head.

'Just one more mission' she kept repeating to herself, as she dearly held Cade's hand in her 'Just one more and it will be over!'

4.

Getting close to the perimeter of the WRO Headquarters turned out to be unnerving. The building had become the site of a large gathering of citizens and newscasters alike who wished to learn something more about the crisis that had just subsided and the unexpected but cheered and welcomed return of Director Reeve Tuesti. Media crews where there to rely those news to the ones who had, wisely according to Cade, opted to mind their own personal business and follow the news on the TV or radio.

Yuffie and Cade dodged the sea of people clustered around the main entrance and whose presence had affected the circulation in the roads nearby the building too. A platoon of soldiers, some of them perched on their vehicles, was carefully guarding the spot.

As they firmly walked towards the line of grey uniforms, a soldier stood alarmed and raised his arm upon noticing them as they emerged from the crowd

"Back off, Sir" the soldier shouted "This area is off-limits for civilians!"

Around him, his colleagues raised their riot shields and readied their rifle. An aahing rose from the crowd as the sound of rifle being loaded echoed in the opening, startling the people witnessing the scene. Citizens were showing more curiosity than apprehension, though, like what was unfurling before their eyes was a reward for their endurance

"Listen Kid!" Cade stood up to the soldier "Don't make me utter those famous words… Makes me look snob"

"Which words?" Yuffie asked, slightly worried by the guard's reaction

"'You don't know who am I!'" Cade told the both them

"Sir, stand back!" the soldier ordered him, backed by two of his colleagues "Or I'll proceed to arrest you, regardless of your identity!"

"Jeez" Cade shook his head "I'm afraid we're going to be late…"

"Why don't you just explain who you are?" Yuffie proposed

"Because I…"

"Sir, a call from the HQ" a guard interrupted Cade hopping to the commander of the platoon, holding a radio in his hand "they say it's urgent!"

The soldier took the radio device without taking his eyes off them. After a few exchange of words, his expression shifted from resoluteness to misunderstanding, and finally to compliance

"Let them through!" he ordered, finally

The soldiers grew a curious expression, but eventually followed the order. People behind them where just as baffled

"Thank you for your work, soldier!" Cade smiled at the guard as he walked past. Yuffie briefly smiled too.

As they approached the entrance to the building, Cade felt something vibrating in his pockets. It was his PHS

"Oh, look at this" he marvelled "I even forgot it was in my trousers!"

"That's because I put it in there"

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, looking at the caller's ID. It was none other than Evan Kallstrom

"Because you did not ask" Yuffie replied

"I'll be sure to ask for anything then…" Cade smiled, as he pressed the green key on the phone

"Hello?" he began the conversation

"Cade, you woke up at last. Sorry for making you waiting at the entrance but security is still tight…"

"Nice to hear you, Evan" Cade replied "I had a minor issue at the entrance, I must admit it. Must have been the way I dress"

"As long as you are not naked, I'm good…"

"Where are you all?"

"Briefing room, last floor, exact last location of last time…"

Yuffie could hear Evan's voice, despite the fain amplification of the telephone speaker. Her heart shrank. Last time they had been there, someone else was there with them. She shook that thought away

"I guess there will be a lot to discuss, right?"

"Not that much, but time is tight. Are you and Yuffie on your way?"

"We sure are" he replied, as they progressed through checkpoints and rows and rows of guards letting them pass as their identity became clearly evident

"Good, I'm waiting you here. See you upstairs! And by the way…" Evan recommended "Avoid Cid, if you can!"

"Oh, don't tell me he's still pissed of because of the Shera!" Cade sighed

"Far from it" Evan told him "He's happy he can mess with you now that you are back again…"

"Jeez, it's hard to be back among the living ones" Cade shook his head

"I'm joking actually" Evan replied "He's quite pissed off but he's prone to condone you. For the sake of the mission…"

"That's very kind of him" Cade said "See you in a minute, then!"

The conversation closed. Cade put his PHS away as they were escorted inside an elevator leading them to the last floor.

The briefing room was not as crowded it would usually be. Apparently the mission the WRO was about to carry out was something for the eyes and ears of a small circle of carefully selected people, who were loitering around waiting for the speaker to ascend to the podium in front of them. Or maybe it was so complicated that elsewhere ten more briefings where being held, each covering a different aspect of the assignment

Cade guessed that there were probably no more than thirty people altogether

"Private event, huh?" Yuffie commented

"So it seems" Cade replied

As they looked around they instantly recognized many familiar faces: Evan, Cid, Intelligence Specialist Ruding, Sarah and most of her SISF team, with whom they had worked alongside. In addition to them, a small cluster of grey-suited men stood by themselves in the corner of a room, having a private discussion with Reeve Tuesti, who was reviewing his notes about the briefing along with Colonel Zansteid, his aide-de-camp. His uncle seemed ok, but Cade resolved to have a talk with him after briefing ended

A mischievous smile appeared on Cid's face upon recognizing them, while walking towards them along Evan

"Cade" he said, closing the distance between "sleeping makes you look better…"

"You must have spent the night sleepless, then" he countered while shaking his hand. Yuffie frowned

"And asshole as fuck" Evan shook his head "Sorry Yuffie for the profanities but I've actually spent the night sleepless. How are you?"

"I'm fine!" she replied "Don't worry about Cade. He can be an ungrateful prick sometimes…"

"That's not what you said last night…" he coyly told her, only to receive her elbow between his ribs. He panted upon the firm impact of her arm on his body

"Hey, easy you too!" Evan warned them "We need you in one piece for the last mission…"

"How are you doing, kids?" Cid asked them

"Better than the Shera, for sure…" Cade joked

"Don't make moves you might regret, kid" Cid menacingly warned him "This is a warning…!"

"Is it really going to be the last one, then?" Yuffie asked, hope lighting up her eyes

"We all wish that! It's still a complicated matter we are dealing with" Evan told her "But don't worry! Briefing will start soon and you will learn everything. Let's take a seat, by the way. I'm having sore legs"

Cid puffed "These youngsters today…"

"Quit it, Cid" Cade told him "If you open your mouth too much, tobacco stench will permeate the surroundings!"

Yuffie chuckled while the technician grumped upon slumping on the chair. As Cade sat down, someone else sat next to him. It was Sarah

"Hey you two! How come you don't greet us anymore?" How is it going?" the SISF leader jokingly told them

"Sorry, Sarah!" Yuffie replied, leaping over Cade to reach for her "Nice to see you!"

"Lieutenant…" Cade quickly bowed his head while mimicking a salute

"When we were told that Cade had suffered a seizure on the ship we were all so worried. But from what I can see it's all past now…"

"Exactly. I just blacked out for a while" Cade nodded "Exhaustion, they said. Are you guys with us in this last mission?"

"Of course they will be!" Yuffie answered in her place "These guys really rock. It would be a shame to leave you home when we need you the most!"

"Thanks for your trust" Sarah laughed "Of course we are with you!"

"How are those two…?" Cade asked, suddenly taking extra precautions not to be heard from Yuffie

"They are fine" Sarah shrugged "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, nothing…" Cade shook his head "I was only afraid some lovers' quarrelling would make the last crucial operation go off the tracks!"

"Perkins and Biggs would never put themselves before their job" Sarah assured him "Why do you ask, again? Is there something I am supposed to know? Or that you are trying to tell me?"

Cade quickly ran for cover, hoping to defuse the situation

"No, no, absolutely" he shook his hands "I don't even know why I've asked you such a question…"

Sarah produced an inquisitory expression

"Is there something strange going on?" she asked "You are really making me want to enquire further!"

"Nothing, Lieutenant" Cade abruptly replied, as Reeve was getting ready to take the microphone "Absolutely nothing!"

Sarah made a smug face as her attention turned to the podium. The lights in the hall dimmed as Reeve was walking up to the stand to commence his speech

"Ah, good morning everyone" Reeve started, tapping on the microphone "we will begin the briefing shortly, also because time is again not on our side. But has it ever been, actually?"

A laughter came from the audience. Cade, who had always held in contempt his uncle's sense of humour, laughed too. At least it was a sign that Reeve was still lively and ready to take the reins of the organization even in a delicate situation like that. And after the intense pressure he had to endure

"Jokes aside" he continued, clearing his throat "it's been a difficult situation we have just gone through, both as the World Regenesis Organization and as… humans basically. We have been deceived by a carefully planned and cunning plan where malevolent people had resorted to an unexpected and massive use of resources we frankly did not expect at all. We let our guard down and we've been… screwed basically!"

Next to him, Zansteid frowned at the sudden shift in Reeve's register

"We've been so close to destruction but we avoided our fate, which looked like to be ultimately decided. Yet we are still here. That's because most of us looked past the rigid dictates of hierarchy and discipline and never forgot why we are here: to serve the world and the people. When the ideals that led to the founding of this organization were being obscured by the will of the ones who had tried to take my… our place, most of us stood true to what we swore to protect when we joined. And did not turn their backs to the truth"

He made a pause, while everyone stood looking at him, waiting for his next words

"And I will always be grateful to you for that" he bowed his head, as slowly but steadily an applause took the place of his words. Reeve scoped the attendance as he nervously smiled, gathering the acclamation Yuffie and Cade thought he righteously deserved

"Your uncle is a great man" Yuffie said, while hands were still clapping around them

"He is, indeed" Cade nodded. Reeve was the man that had virtually rescued him while he wandered stranded through the world. He had given him a place where he could have finally had the chance to be truly the man he was, and not some mean, evil-possessed puppet being straddled around by the circumstances.

As Cade discreetly contemplated the surroundings, he had an eerie feeling that probably finally his life was taking a turn for the better. This time for real. He turn to look at Yuffie, who was deeply focused on cheering Reeve, and he had a vision of his life being like a giant jigsaw where at last all the pieces where at their place. The picture wasn't still a hundred percent clear but it was something that couldn't look so bad

'Come on Cade!' he thought to himself 'Just one more to go. Just one more!' he repeated, as his hand moved automatically at the beat of the clapping around him

The clapping waned, and he was brought back to reality as soon as Reeve spoke again

"Thank you, really" he said "I really do thank you. I usually prepare my speeches in advance, as you all know, but this time I had to improvise a bit… I hope the speech wasn't too much corny. Even my orders at restaurants are clumsy, at times. You wouldn't say that, but…"

The public replied with a laughter

"Anyway, I hope I managed to convey my message in the best and clearest possible way. As I've told you before, our schedule is tight, as always, so I'll leave the stage to our dear colonel Zansteid for the briefing, proper. A round of applause for him too…" Reeve winked at the audience, before retreating from the podium, as a nervous laughter ran through the people who were surprised by Reeve's never-seen-before playful demeanour

"Is it me or Reeve looks jollier than usual?" Yuffie asked

"It's not you" Cade replied, as a slightly embarrassed Zansteid walked up to the microphone "At least that means he's ok"

Yuffie rested her hand on his right arm, partly as a response to his genuine show of concern

"Thanks Director Tuesti" Zansteid began as the microphone whistled, before being adjusted "I would like to personally commend each and everyone of you for the outstanding operation carried out at the Junon Correctional facility. Our Director is here alive and in good shape with us thanks to your efforts. We are currently carrying out an extensive enquiry within the ranks of the WRO to find out any signs or traces of hostile elements. But let's concentrate on dealing the bad guys the final blow once and for all…"

Zansteid turned towards the giant screen at his shoulders and a map of Gaia showed up

"As most of you have already been told the Singularity was a giant hoax perpetuated by elements of the Scientific Division on the MPM payroll. Provided the MPM existed for real. There is no such thing as the Singularity, ladies and gentlemen, and there's nothing out there in outer space threatening to blow the planet away. And, if you let me add my personal thoughts on that, it's a miracle that this information has not been leaked to the population. The panic wave could have brought about a wave of rioting and hysteria difficult to envision…"

Somebody raised a hand. It was Ruding, seated a few rows behind them

"What about the malfunctions in the telecommunication satellite?" the IT specialist asked

"Apparently, they had been purposefully knocked out remotely. The whole action had gone unnoticed… but we all perfectly know why, I think"

The audience stood silent. Zansteid resumed his briefing

"What it has been kept hidden all this time, on the other hand, was something else. Recently there has a spike in seismic activity all over the world. Incidents in Corel and Mideel have been particularly catastrophic, and the current political situation hampered any swift response we could organize. The rescue machine is working as for now, though, and relief has been brought to the affected populace"

"The seismic activity can be explained by the counterfeited data you have recovered in Kalm. The Mako in the exosphere has somehow acted as a diapason, disrupting the flow under the surface. We are expecting intense seismic activity pretty much all over the world and if Brad Clawbourne's plan will hatch as he has planned, the situation will go from serious to apocalyptic"

A quadrant on the map lit up, pointing at a chain of islands connecting the Woodlands area and the Gongaga area

"This chain of island is of volcanic origin" Zansteid explained "and it's also the point were the Junon-Corel fault stems. The fault itself is accumulating a whole load of energy as we speak, and seismic activity in the depth of the ocean has been recorded. One of our survey vessel, the _Dragonette,_ disappeared while sailing over the fault a few days ago. The crew resurfaced in what has been deemed a highjack in open-sea"

A picture of the submarine appeared on the screen, next to a picture where the Dragonette was instead moored

"While carrying out the rescue of Director Tuesti, the Dragonette has been spotted in Junon Harbour. Apparently, Brad Clawbourne and his associates have seized the submarine and used it to ferry a large quantity of Mako from our doomed expedition to the Northern Crater to these island, precisely in an old Shin-Ra naval facility. We assume that Brad Clawbourne wants to detonate a powerful Mako bomb in order to tilt the fault in a point where the amount of energy is so high that the blast will trigger an artificial sea-quake"

The audience began whispering. Cade raged at the idea that Brad Clawbourne, unable to settle things with the ones that had caused him so much pain and grief, had turned his wrath against the world itself

"The sea-quake will run throughout the entire fault, and we are talking of a system that runs for thousands of kilometres in the middle of the ocean. The result will be a massive tsunami that will cause damages and losses as deep as ten kilometres into the coastline. And then of course all the other faults will be affected. The terrestrial crust could be literally shattered apart…"

Yuffie watched the screen too, with a mixture of shock and resoluteness to put an end to that insane scheme

"This is insane!" Cade muttered "Brad wants to make the world implode!"

"We have to stop it!" Yuffie calmly shook her head

"We do have!" Sarah and Evan echoed. Cid, on his side, stood unfazed.

"We've already drafted a plan to assault the facility and disable the bomb. We believe that the Dragonette will be used to deliver the ordinance to the location where its explosion will cause the greatest amount of damage, so the submarine takes top priority. The Special Intervention Service Force will lead the assault on the facility. Are there any questions?"

Nobody raised a hand

"Perfect" Zansteid nodded "You are all dismissed. The STIF crew will report in my office to plan and be briefed on the details of the plan! Good luck everyone!"

Everyone stood up, as Reeve Tuesti did not seem likely to add a closure speech. Therefore, Cade raced to meet him for the first time after his rescue from the Junon Penitentiary

"Where are you going?" Yuffie noticed his motion

"I'm having a word or two with my uncle. What an ungrateful nephew would I be if I did not even care about how is he?" Cade explained "Want to come along?"

Yuffie took a couple of seconds to think about his proposal

"Maybe later" she finally said

"Our briefing starts in fifteen minutes" Sarah told them, taking a peek at her watch "you'd better hurry!"

"Do we have to attend the briefing with you?" Cade asked

"Of course you have" Sarah replied "I mean, after all we've gone through you are honorary members of the SISF now!"

"Do we really are?" Cade replied "That's cool!"

"What about you, Yuffie?" Sarah asked the ninja

"It's cool indeed" she answered "but to me your bunch needs a change of name. Special Intervention Service Force is so… un-poetic"

"Well" Sarah shrugged "what do you suggest for a change?"

"Why don't you try with Special Tactics and Rescue?"

"STR?" Cade wondered "Bah, it sounds worst than before…"

"I was thinking to something more like .R…" Yuffie précised

"STAR?" Sarah pondered "Well, yeah. It's nice and all… but I doubt the others will like it. It sound a bit… silly"

"Maybe it fits for some kind of zombie-themed movie…" Cid mumbled, while getting up and walking away

"See you later then" Cade said, finally getting up and walking away as well "I'll catch up with you later in the briefing room!"

"Cade is acting quite strangely" Sarah told Yuffie, making sure Cade's ears were beyond hearing range

"To me is acting as usual…" Yuffie shrugged

"Are you sure that you and him are not…" Sarah suddenly asked

"Who? Me and him!" Yuffie quickly replied, blushing "No, we are not. Absolutely not"

Sarah stared at her, as if she was waiting for Yuffie to crack under the pressure of her gaze. She did not eventually

"Ok, then!" she finally said "Sorry for asking. Not that there would be anything wrong, though…"

"Uncle Reeve!" Cade waived his hand as Reeve detached from the group of WRO officers he had just finished discussing with. He turned and smiled as he laid his eyes upon his nephew.

Cade jumped on stage and walked up to him. They both hugged each other as the came within reach of each other

"Ouch!" Reeve protested "Easy with your old one, Cade! I'm alright but I'm feeling every year…"

"Oh, stop whining like an old fart!" Cade moaned "To me you look as quick as ever"

"You probably got from my side of the family, I mean your dad…" Reeve corrected himself "Anyway, the doctors who visited me after my arrival here agree with you. I'm pretty much in one piece, as you can see. Nothing to worry about, they said…"

Cade smiled. Although in his cell back in Junon Reeve had appeared unscathed, Cade was secretly concerned there might have been complications of some sorts which could have gone unnoticed. Not to mention what could have affected his mind

"I'm glad you're ok!" Cade told him

"I'm glad you are too" Reeve replied "Walking into the Junon penitentiary must have been hard. Am I right?"

"It was quite hard" Cade admitted "but I had some good backup"

"Backup?" Reeve allowed himself a laughter "Cade, you are still the same. You would shrunk yourself to the size of an ant and take on a whole anthill if that means saving someone you care about…"

Cade smiled, blushing upon the compliment

"Hey, don't take it!" Reeve patted him on the back "I am immensely grateful for what you have done. Thanks to you I'm here alive and able to do my part to put an end to all this…"

"I told you, it was a share effort" Cade précised again

"Well, if you insist, I'll look at it that way" he laughed again "And you? How are you doing?" he asked then, a shadow of concern cast on his face

"I'm fine, I suppose" Cade answered

"You're fine…"

"Well, I am" Cade shrugged "I just want this whole ordeal to end"

"What about the Mako poisoning? And the burnout you had just before take off?" Reeve sternly enquired

"I took a look at my medical record" Cade lied, fingers invisibly crossed. He appreciated Reeve's concern, but sometimes his uncle acted over-protectively towards him "Apparently it's slowly but inevitably winding down as we speak. I'll commence a treatment soon to get rid of the last remnants of Mako inside me…"

"Did you get some rest at least? I don't want to see you collapsing on the ground again like a ragdoll. That was not nice to see…"

"I understand" Cade nodded, feeling reprimanded. Righteously reprimanded, on second thoughts "I did sleep. Yuffie can testify that"

"Well, if so" Reeve replied with a smile "that's something less to worry about"

They stood in silence for a while. Below them the hall turned empty

"I heard about Kayla" Reeve muttered "I'm sorry!" he landed his hand over his nephew shoulder

Cade nodded, a veil of tears covering his eyes

"It's all right" he said "Things that happen"

"Things that happen" Reeve repeated, in an incredulous manner "Cade, I'm not sure how effective it is to downplay certain things…"

"Well, it's not that I have to tread on the past for much long!"

"That is true, as well" Reeve nodded "but the best thing we can do when something bad happens to us is to take a lesson and make it worthwhile. Isn't it what you kept repeating to me every time I blame myself for… you know what"

"Yeah, I know" Cade replied, rubbing away a speck of tear from his eye "I'm just a bit battered by everything that has happened. Yuffie says I still have to come to terms with that… and probably she's right"

"You're going to get past this as well. I'm a hundred percent sure!" Reeve told him, hugging him again "Just hold on for a little while, all right? Do it for me! And then I promise everything will be all right, ok?"

"I'll do" Cade snorted "I have to…"

"Why do you say that?" Reeve grew a confused expression as he stared in his eyes

"Nothing at all" Cade shook his head "It's just… ah, it's complicated!"

"Look, I might not be as young as you are but last time I checked there was nothing complicated about a boy and a girl who find out they like each other!"

Cade's eyes bulged

"How… how do you know?" he asked, aghast

"Oh, then I guessed!" Reeve smiled "Me and Yuffie had a talk or two while you were… recovering your strength and wandering in dreamland"

Cade's face turned red as he lowered his eyes

"Well, I hate to repeat that but these are truly things that happen" he said.

Reeve chuckled "I agree with you this time. Not that you had been unlucky this time"

"I know" Cade nodded "that's why I made sure I did not make the same mistake I did last time…"

"Oh, so you told her it is…" Reeve marvelled

"I did" Cade smiled

"Well done, Cade" Reeve shook both his hands, as his eyes beamed with happiness "I'm so happy for you. Play your cards right and this will help you to get back on your feet. If there's someone who deserves to be happy on the face of Gaia, that one is you. After all you endured, at least. And Yuffie is such a fine girl…"

"She is, indeed" Cade nodded

They both exchanged a prolonged stare. Then Reeve broke the silence

"Try to stay alive, Cade" he said "I know its sounds doomful, but please do!"

"I feel the same. Now I have the feeling my life is taking a turn for the better. It would be such a waste…"

"Listen, I know what's going on through your head right now. And don't accuse me of acting like I know everything" Reeve said "But let me just tell you one thing: being a hero is useless if you can't see the results of your action. Do you get what I mean?"

Cade silently agreed with him. Words that he had heard before in an otherworldly dimension sounded more convincing now that their were flowing from his uncle's mouth

"I do!"

"Then I trust I don't have you to tell anything more" he patted his shoulder again "Now, go. Briefing is about to start any second now!"

Cade nodded. He turned on himself but froze after just one step

"Uncle Reeve!" he called him, as he was about to walk away in the opposite direction. Reeve raised his head

"Thank you! For everything!" Cade simply said

"For what?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Cade protested "I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. If it wasn't for you, I would have killed myself holed up in some shady place making a wreck of my life…"

"Cade…" Reeve shook his head "That's the way things had to turn out. If I look at you know, I realise that's the man you were supposed to become. I simply realized I had the tools to… give you the hand you needed to make you recover yourself from all the bad stuff that happened to you"

"Still, I owe you a lot" Cade told him "If I'll ever die with a smile on my face, I'll owe you every inch of that"

Cade could swear Reeve was on the point of breaking in tears. He did not, but still he took him some time to pick up the right words to keep up with the conversation

"Listen Cade, you have a briefing waiting for you" he invited him "I'll see you tomorrow just before the mission. Now, go and don't feast too much tonight!"

"I'll look after myself" Cade promised him

"Please do" Reeve whispered, as Cade finally ran towards the area where he was expected.

The additional briefing the SISF was ordered to attend consisted in a series of blueprints and tactics to storm the facility. Apparently, Brad and his posse had taken possession of a disused submarine base located in a small island of what was called the Kazafun Islands, an archipelago in the southern seas.

Cade had taken the seat Yuffie had kept for him next to her, under the watchful eye of Lieutenant Farron, who looked like she was just playing dumb over her knowledge of the relationship between them. Cade was not bothered at all by that kind of vigilance, he just cared about carrying out the mission, like he had always do. And come back in one piece

"… the base is well secluded because of its location in a bay. There are several landing points suitable for the insertion of small parties here, here and there. Intel estimates a total of no more than seventy-five to a hundred hostile elements…"

Zansteid was illustrating details about the mission displayed on the screen. Cade could swore he was well bored of all that talking. As usual, he was eager to put action before words

"… your mission will be to open up a path for the main contingent, that will seize the facility once you will secure the harbour area. It's imperative that the submarine does not leave before you can board it. We have drawn a contingency plan…"

This time it was different though. He discreetly turned his eyes towards Yuffie who, on the other hand, was paying attention just as much as a pupil on his first day of school

"… like scoring a direct hit on the facility with a cruise missile or sink the submarine with a squadron of warship that will be stationing off the island and ready to intervene. But at that point it could be already too late…"

Yuffie. Cade shook his head. His mind wandered at the first time they met and at how he nearly got her killed in the chase back in Wutai. He could swear she would have killed him, and her hatred for him afterwards was only a way to process her eagerness to dig her claws into him. But then something happened

"… we will strike at the first hour of the morning. We will exploit the last hours of darkness. You will be constantly monitored by a flying command post on the airship Shera, which has just rolled out from the repair workshop and its airworthy again…"

Cid made a grin at Cade's direction. He caught the mechanic's lopsided smile and replied with a worried look on his face, yet his mind picked up the train of thoughts almost instantly.

Yuffie. What had happened. A lot of terrible things, surely. But every cloud has a silver lining, and from all the pain, sorrow and fear that fate had packed against them, an affection had thrived. And the affection soon became love.

To Cade it was undoubtedly love.

He welcomed that thought with a smile

"Captain Tuesti" Zansteid thundered "do you want to add something, perhaps something funny, judging from your smile?"

"Absolutely!" Cade replied almost instantly. Being caught head in the clouds in the midst of something important was a happening he was accustomed to "But honestly, there is nothing funny about it, Sir. We either succeed or we all fail, as humanity this time"

Everyone fell silent. Nobody expected Cade to sound so serious. Not even Yuffie

"Well, then" Zansteid calmly replied "let's resume. In an event of a sudden emergency such as…"

After a lengthy discussion over tactics, equipment and protocols, the briefing was adjourned, with all the participants being ordered to return to their assigned quarters and not to leave the WRO Headquarters under any circumstances

"Why don't they just drop a huge bomb over that damned island?" the grumpy voice of sergeant Perkins echoed in the room as the SISF servicemembers got up from their seats and headed off to their bunks

"Because the Mako device could be set off too" Corporal Biggs lectured him, her voice sounding annoyed "and that's what we are sent there to prevent. Didn't you pay attention to what Zansteid told us?"

"I did. I simply can't understand why everything has to be so complicated…"

Cade could not agree more with the hunky sergeant. As he found himself in the space outside the briefing rooms, he felt something pulling him by the sleeve. It was Yuffie

"Hey!" she called at him "Are you sleepwalking by daytime now?"

Cade smiled, his eyes gazing her face. He could hardly believe she was his girlfriend now

"Hello?" Yuffie tried to shake him off from his apparent state of catatonia

"Sorry" Cade shook his head "I was thinking about stuff"

"Such as?"

"Such as how beautiful you are"

Yuffie tried to hide her smile, as he tried to slap him on his chest. Cade gladly received her blow

"Why? Aren't you beautiful?" Cade teased her

"Quit it, you pander!" Yuffie smiled again. It was the smile of people like Yuffie that made life worth living "How is Reeve, by the way?" she asked

"He looks and sounds just fine" he told her "That's all I could get him to tell me, at last"

"That's enough, to me. What time it is, by the way?"

Cade glanced at his wristwatch "It's late afternoon already…" he marvelled"

Listen, we have some spare time before departure" she said "What are you going to do?"

"I don't really know…" he replied

"I see" she said "Why don't you take me to my room, then"

"I guess that's a way to kill time" he told her.

They reached the level where Yuffie's room was located. Cade did not even lose time looking for his own. The corridors were empty

"It's kind of lonely here…" he commented

"You're right" she said "Maybe everyone is already taking a nap or minding his or her own business"

"Probably" Cade, distractedly told her. As he got close to Yuffie's bunk, he was starting to feel an eerie sensation upon his skin. A feeling that was making his bowels churn and his legs shaky.

He had never felt like that. Not in a long time, at last.

Yuffie came to a halt. She had reached her destination

"Well, I think that's my place for the night" she said "Hey, are you all right!?

Cade did not reply. He did, actually, but he did not use words this time. He kissed her, leaving her helpless. After the initial shock, Yuffie threw her arms around him and returned the kiss

"Cade" she whispered, as they separated, arms still around each other "What's bothering you?"

"I'm afraid" he said "For the first time in my life I'm feeling the most subtle yet powerful fear ever…"

"What is it?" she asked "Look, let's get inside first. I wanna rest my legs on something soft…"

"Such as…"

"Such as a mattress… you idiot!" Yuffie scolded him, only to smile at him right afterwards.

She opened the door and pulled him inside too. As the door closed behind them, she sat on the bed and patted on the sheets next to her to invite him to take a seat beside her

"Cade" she started, as the bed cracked under their weight "please tell me: what are you afraid of?" she asked, holding his hands in her own

"I'm afraid of what is going to happen tomorrow" he bluntly told her

"Why? It is not different from all the missions from which you came back in one piece…"

"No it isn't!" he interrupted her, startling her a bit "It is not. Not this time…"

"Why?"

Cade breathed in. He looked like someone who was staring at some undisclosed point thousand and thousand of miles off in the distance, while the walls of the room were just a couple of metres before him

"For the first time in my life I feel like I have someone beside me who can really make a difference in my life. The kind of difference I waited for a long time"

Yuffie opened her mouth upon realizing what was bothering her boyfriend.

Her boyfriend.

Coming to think of it, she had never really had a boyfriend. Actually, while she was just barely into her teens, she used to hang out with a couple of boys, definitely not the ones her father deemed suitable for a girl of royal lineage. But nothing really came from those kind of experiences. They amounted to a relationship the same way a tornado could be counted as a breeze.

His boyfriend. Coming to think about that, it still sounded so awkwardly strange. Cade. Of all the people, that is the male human beings on Gaia, it had to be the one who had nearly made her lost her face before her father, albeit rescuing her from an attempted murder.

The one who despite having lost his family first, his beloved soul mate first and his beloved soul mate again, was still on the prowl ready to fire the first shot. Of course, his determination was dwindling a bit, but it was just how humans were made.

And she still felt happy beside him, despite the world being at war with itself.

It was no surprise that she instantly understood the distress in Cade's soul. So, she did the only thing she could do, hoping that it would yield even the tiniest amount of result.

Yuffie leant over his body, arms around his waist. It felt like it worked because Cade did the same to her

"Cade" Yuffie said "I completely understand you. Losing you right now…" she gulped "… would be terrible for me too"

"I love you, Yuffie" Cade said, looking at her "I love you more than anything else in this world. I don't care about anything else as long as I feel this love for you and I know you are here in front of me"

"Me too, Cade" Yuffie replied, tears battling to get past her eyes "I love you"

They kissed each other. Yuffie guessed that the loss of Kayla had left a scar that, despite healing, was still affecting the way Cade behaved towards loving and be loved

"I won't lose you, Cade" she promised "As long as you look after me, I'll protect you in return. This is our life now, and we'll take care of it together!"

Cade nodded. He kissed her again, but when they separated, Yuffie pulled out an unexpected move, pushing him down on the bed. She crawled upon him and kissed him again and again, as their bodies became tangled up in an endless embrace.

Yuffie pulled his shirt off and, caught by a sudden surge of desire, started kissing his ripped chest. She was acting driven by a force she had never knew in her whole life. She stood up over him and took her own shirt off.

Cade pulled her back on the bed and placed himself on top of her, never letting more than a second pass between a kiss and the next one

"Cade" Yuffie panted

"Yes?"

"Just be… gentle with me. Would you?"

"I'll be" he replied, as he slowly and passionately kissed her again "Take your time, Yuffie. There's enough of it in our hands…"

"I love you, Cade" Yuffie managed to say, on the brink of crying tears of love and joy

"I love you, Yuffie" he said, as they fell back on the bed, side by side, hands caressing their naked bodies.


	22. Kazafun Islands

KAZAFUN ISLANDS

1.

A jolt woke him up.

For an instant, he thought that it had just been a nightmare.

There was nothing such as a bunch of derelict, delusional sociopaths trying to rip Gaia apart by setting of a powerful Mako bomb next to a fault ready to crack open.

He would have gotten up in a bed. He would have opened the window and smelt the scent of a sunny morning somewhere in a peaceful corner of the world.

He would have walked into the kitchen and hugged the woman he was calling his girlfriend. Or maybe even his wife. Kids were still out of the picture, as of now.

In short, it had been just a nightmare.

But maybe, his life, his real life was a nightmare itself. It had been a nightmare all along.

As he had fallen asleep in the passenger compartment of the Shera, and fastened on his seat along with the other members of the expeditionary force dispatched to infiltrate the harbour and thwart Brad Clawbourne's plans, images of his life jumped before his closed eyes, quickly and vividly as if the film of the reel had stuck upon his eyes.

Reeve giving him a firm handshake before seeing him walking upon the ramp of the airship. All the SISF members getting ready to take off, exchanging looks of encouragement in a show of pure camaraderie.

The night spent sharing the bed with Yuffie. Both of them.

Yuffie being shot in the chest by Brad.

Kayla confessing her love for him, right before dying.

And his entire life before joining the WRO.

Last but not the least, the last words Jessie had whispered him, before dying along with all the other inhabitants of the Sector 7, crushed by the falling plate.

 _One day you'll understand…_

That day was still far from here, apparently. Cade had still to understand a thing about how the world worked. He had still to understand why people had to suffer and why people had to die so others could try to carry on.

The heavy pace of a woman dressed in full battle uniform brought him back into reality again. That and the loud, low-frequency hum of the airship engines, permeating the air inside the hull

"Are you sure you are ready?" Lieutenant Farron asked him "You look like someone who is about to say 'Fuck you all I'm out of here!'"

"Who, me?" Cade stood up, unfastening himself from the seat "That's not something to say about me. And you should know it!" he sternly told her

"Hey, relax!" Sarah laughed "I see it takes something extreme to shake you off…"

"What? Was it a…" Cade looked at her, perplexed

"Don't worry" Sarah shook her head "Touching a nerve is the best way to wake the dormant spirit of a fighter"

"I see" Cade replied, scratching his forehead "Well, that worked for sure. I'm better now" he assured her, shaking off the numbness from himself.

He looked around him. In the passenger compartment or , better, the cargo which had been hastily converted into a passenger compartment in the newly refurbished Shera, SISF soldiers were checking their equipment and doing some exercise to keep their bodies ready to action.

Kewell was stocking his medical bag while Ruding and his assistant where calibrating the communications equipment on their vests.

Corporal Biggs and Sergeant Perkins stood apart from the main group, having a quiet talk between themselves. Cade looked at Yuffie, still asleep on her seat, her beloved shuriken between the back of the chair and her own back. Her eyes had lit up like fireworks when Evan had handed her the complete set of weaponry she was so fond of and so deadly with.

He looked back at the couple at the corner of the space and wondered how on Gaia they managed to keep their relationship working

"Are you sure there is nothing between you two?" Sarah asked

"Me and who?" Cade played dumb

"Come on!" Sarah sighed "You and the princess still asleep here…" she said, indicating Yuffie

"What?" Cade said "Is that another trick to make me roll my punches or…?"

"At all" she replied "It's a real question!"

"Is that so important to you?"

"It could be…"

"They could be non of your business, Lieutenant" Cade coyly told her

"So you admit there is something, actually?"

Cade was about to counter that insinuation again, but it seemed like there wasn't anything that could make her quit her questioning. Cade sighed, as he let his arms fall down

"All right, you won" he said "me and Yuffie are… fond of each other! Why so insistent, then?"

"I don't know" Sarah said "I thought you maybe wanted to hear something about how to manage relationships on the workplace…"

"Well, thanks Lieutenant" Cade replied "but it will not be a relationship on the workplace. At least, not after this mission…"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm going to quit the WRO"

"Are you serious?" Sarah replied, baffled

"Why not?" Cade shrugged

"You could do a lot here in the WRO. We surely need someone like you…"

"I see" Cade replied "but I feel like I need something else"

Sarah slowly nodded, thoughtfully

"In that case" she finally spoke "who am I to take a decision on behalf of someone else? Still, you will be missed. That's for sure!"

"You talk like we've been working along for ages. Instead, we only met, how long was it?"

"It's irrelevant" she said "some people are born to impress others, for good and for bad, I suppose… Take Yuffie, how long have you been knowing her?"

Cade blushed. He had to admit that Sarah had a solid point, though

"Not much more than you…"

"And we all know what happened then…" Sarah made a cunning smile

"We do!"

"And that brings us to the second reason I've been so nosy regarding your relationship"

"What would be?" Cade asked, fearing for the answer he'd get

Sarah did not utter a word. Instead she turned towards the catwalk over the hull and whistled. A familiar figure climbed down the ladder. It was Evan, who promptly handed something to Sarah, looking like a small wad of banknotes

"This is the last time I bet with you…" he complained "Waiting for the next pay-check will be painful as fuck now!"

'Bet?'

"You would have a lucky shot every now and then if you chose the playing field correctly!" she countered

"You are the most subtle girlfriend ever!" Evan complained "No wonder they put you to lead this pack of daredevils"

'Girlfriend?'

"You two owe me an explanation…" Cade said, eyes bulged

"An explanation?" Evan made a puzzled face

"There is nothing to explain, really" Sarah shrugged "What do you think me and Evan are?"

Cade was left dumbfolded. That was something truly unexpected. He chuckled as he shook his head

"Evan" he cackled "this is…"

"Don't think you're the only cool guy in the house!" Evan patted him on the shoulder "Everyone is entitled to make some conquest…"

Cade stood jaw-dropped. Evan and Sarah. No, Lieutenant Farron. He still couldn't believe that

"You treated yourself too, I see" Sarah told him, pointing at Yuffie, who was moving and mumbling in his ever lighter sleep. She would have woke up any second now

"Well, is that wrong?" Cade asked

"No, at all…" Evan calmly replied, delighted by his friend's reaction

"How long has it been going on? And how it happened?" he asked, in a frenzy. Now Cade was beginning to understand why Yuffie was so keen on gossiping

"Later" Evan gestured with his hand "Now we have something more urgent to take care of, don't you think so?"

Yuffie yawned as she outstretched her arms. She got up all pepped

"Damn it" she said "I hate sleeping on stuff like that. My back is a block of stretched nerves… oh, hello everyone. I'm glad I got up on time!"

"We are all getting ready" Evan told them "We will be flying over the drop zone soon!"

"All right then!" Sarah replied "I'll marshal the rest of team. We will be ready in less than five minutes. Don't miss the mark!" she turned and proceeded to inspect every member of the team

"Cade!" Evan got closer to him and caught his attention again "I know you have your own matters to deal with but would you mind… keeping an eye on her?"

Cade smiled "For you, this and beyond, although I have the impression she'll have to look after me instead…" he said, as he vigorously shook hands with him. Evan nodded, as he walked back to the ladder leading to the catwalk

"You are surrounded by wonderful people" Yuffie whispered him "I hope you are aware of that"

Cade stared at her

"Now I am" he replied

"All right everyone!" Sarah harked, standing in the middle of the bay "We will be over our designated landing zone soon. The plan is to descend by parachute at the other end of the island, opposite the naval facility. We have darkness and the terrain conformation on our side. They have the unexpected. But we like to deal with the unexpected more than they imagine, right?"

"Right!" the whole squad replied at unison

"Ok, I'll be leading the operations on the ground. We'll be closely monitored by the sky by our INTEL team, so we will have an additional pair of eyes looking around for us. Remember what we discussed during the briefing and don' t be afraid to improvise. Provided it yields some results… Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes, Sir!" the squad roared

"Good, let's put the full stop to this whole affair. In position for jump!"

Cade and Yuffie fell in line as the soldiers formed two rows leading to the rear ramp. Yellow lights from beacons flooded the bay

"Get ready to chill!" Sergeant Perkins shouted

"Just don't forget to zip yourself up and you'll be fine!" Biggs countered him

"Hey, kid!" a voice roared via an intercom "Remember to open the parachute if you want to land safely. And be sure to come back alive. We have a few things left to settle…"

Cade shook his head, amazed by the fact that Cid could not ever sound convincingly menacing at all, even if he wanted

"I don't know if you can hear me, Cid" he shouted over the alarm that had begun to ring throughout the bay, as he picked up his rifle "but I'm surprised this piece of junk is still able to fly after the rough treatment it had received!"

"Mind your mouth, kid" Cid warned him "It's one more thing to add to the list!"

Yuffie put a hand over his shoulder. He turned his head behind, to meet her smile

"Together!" she said

He put his own hand over hers

"Together!" he repeated, with a smile

The gears that put the ramp in motion suddenly unlocked, and from an ever widening gap, the violent gusts of the cold winds of the southern seas swept the hull. The soldiers bent against the oncoming shears as they fought to stand still. Cade instinctively patted his parachuted bag and adjusted the rifle behind himself

"First section" a flight crew member shouted "Ready to jump in five!"

After five seconds, the first soldiers were running towards the ramp and jumping down

"First section, confirmed clear! Ready with the next one!"

As the crewmember lowered his arm, the second group of SISF members dashed towards the ramp and disappeared against the backdrop of the dark sky

"Third and last section! Ready to go!"

"Watch out for any straddling soldier" Sarah instructed them "If you land anywhere outside the designated area consider yourself lost!"

"All right then!" Cade nodded. He lowered the night vision goggles on his head, ready to turn them on upon jumping into the darkness

"Ever jumped from an airship?" he asked Yuffie, while they slowly walked toward the ramp

"Not really" she shook her head "and honestly, I was not looking forward to it!" she said, with a bit of concern in her voice

"Come on!" Cade encouraged her "After all, this has been the week of the first times, right?"

Yuffie turned to him, eyes bulged and skin as red as blood, a mixture of embarrassment and rage as Cade produced a nervous laughter

"Does that mean what I think it means?" Sarah laughed "So much for that 'we are fond of each other' stuff…"

"With all due respect, Lieutenant" Yuffie rebuked her "you should stick with Evan and leave this matter to us"

"I see" Sarah replied, surprised at the degree of Yuffie's feistiness

"Wait!" Cade told her, metres away from the brim of the ramp. Winds swept the space "You knew that all along?"

"Look! When we'll be back, you'll have to deal with me other than Cid…"

"Last section!" the crewmember shouted "Ready for launch!"

"Why don't you forgive me now?" he offered "It will help clearing my mind…"

"We'll see…" Yuffie hissed

"Now!" the crewmember shouted

Cade made a few steps and dived into the sky. All the sounds he was hearing seconds ago being sucked out by the void of the night and replaced with the howl of the wind against as he glided with all the others towards the island that had appeared in front of him.

2.

Yuffie splashed her feet as she landed just metres short off the shoreline. She hopped in the shallow water, dragging the parachute along with her. As she felt the steadier ground of the shore under her feet she increased her pace, reaching for the centre of the sand crescent where most of the SISF members where gathering.

Lieutenant Farron stood at the centre of the huddle. Soon all the faces began to appear in the faint dark of the early morning. To the east, a bright shade of vivid orange was appearing just above the horizon

"… five, six, seven…" Sarah began counting, as the servicemembers were getting rid of their chutes and inspecting their gear "… and ten! Damn it, there are three elements missing!" she swore

"Who are they?" Perkins asked

"The demolition section" Sarah realized "And Cade?"

"Cade!" Yuffie exclaimed "Where is he?"

"That's a good question" Sarah replied, as she switched to a device fastened to her wrist "let's see if we can track them with their beacons…"

"Save the effort!" a voice called from behind them. Everyone turned towards three figures who where crawling towards them. Leading the trio there was Cade

"Oh, there you are!" Sarah exclaimed. Yuffie let out a sigh of relief as he took his place in the circle

"Sorry for the delay!" he apologized "I brought some friends with me!"

"What happened?" Biggs asked

"I don't know, I wasn't able to negotiate the traverse winds at some points. So much for those damn weather forecasts…" he explained.

Although it felt cool, humidity was beginning to seep through the air. Soon, it would have been unbearably hot in the small subtropical island

"Thank the Maker the monsoon season is already over" a man commented "otherwise it would have been the worst landing ever in ages"

"Enough of that!" Sarah cut the conversation. She twitched her earpiece "Shera, this is Ground Team. Landing complete. All operatives present and accounted for…"

Everyone stood watching her, waiting for the response from the airship

"Ground Team this is Shera" Evan replied at the other end of the wire "We have a visual on your location. We are currently hovering seven kilometres northeast of the island. The WRO force is afloat below us…"

"Roger that!" Sarah replied "What's our current mission objective?"

"You current objective is to infiltrate and secure the compound in the north of the island. Once the compound will be sanitized, the WRO force will descend and occupy it. Further details will be streamed to your device"

"Are we expecting resistance?"

"Not much. But be careful anyhow. _Shera_ out!"

As the conversation fell silent, Sarah stood up

"All right everyone!" she exclaimed, minding to raise her voice too much "We have ten minutes to reach the facility. There's a trail up ahead. Resistance should be light but keep your eyes peeled. All right?"

Everyone nodded

"Once we'll reach the compound, we will perform a reconnaissance of the perimeter and of the hostile elements there. Then, we will give the WRO force the green light to descend and permanently occupy the facility. Our priority is to reach the dock and prevent the submarine from leaving. Any questions?"

Nobody replied

"Good. Let's get going then!"

The group set in motion towards a narrow track that disappeared in the thick foliage. Cade walked up to Yuffie, who was the only one not to sport a silenced machine gun as a personal weapon. She had a small gun in the holster by her side but the ninja primarily relied on her giant shuriken fastened to her back

"How was the landing?" he asked, standing by her side

"It was fun, actually. I was worrying for nothing" she replied

"I'm glad to hear that" he told her, keeping as quiet as he could

"You owe me an excuse…" she whispered to him, after a pause

"What? You mean, for before?" he tentatively asked

Yuffie nodded, with an expression halfway between serious and joking

"Well the, I'm sorry" he meekly said "but I had to vent out a bit of nervousness…"

"I hope this won't be an excuse for the future"

Cade shook his head. Sarah had taken point of the squad, blazing a trail with a machete-like sword, cutting off branches and bough which stood on the derelict path.

Suddenly, she stopped swinging her knife. She raised a hand and all the team came to a halt. Cade instinctively readied his rifle while crouching. Yuffie rushed to caress her shuriken, ready to unleash it if needed.

Apparently, Lieutenant Farron was waiting for a broadcast from the Shera. Cade guessed they had been walking for roughly five minutes by now, so they were halfway to the compound

"Ground Team, come in" a voice ranged through the earpieces of the team members, all tuned to the same frequency. It was intelligence specialist Ruding this time.

"Shera, Ground Team here" Sarah replied to Ruding's voice "Give us a situation report…"

"You are almost at the eastern perimeter of compound. It looks like activity in the site is scarce but Mako reading are pretty high throughout the entire site…"

"The entire site?" Sarah asked "How can this be?"

"We are running a detailed enquiry but it appears that the site has been used to store and discards nuclear waste from submarine reactors. If the dirty bomb should explode there, it would cause a disaster!"

"Say goodbye to a precision strike from afar…" Cade commented

"That's why we think Brad chose this location in particular" Ruding said "The nuclear waste scattered here and there would create and environmental disaster if dispersed in the air and the sea. It's his backup plan"

"Damn it!" Sarah swore "We have to hurry. And exercise caution!"

"Sarah, judging from our satellite pictures the enemy presence on the site in almost non-existent" Evan took the microphone back in the Shera "but you know better than me not to trust something like that. Proceed with the recon once you reach the perimeter. Be careful, over!"

The conversation fell again. Yuffie and Cade exchanged a brief amused look upon hearing Evan s' last word.

Without uttering a word, Sarah raised her knife again and, together with the rest of the group, walked forth once again.

Back in Edge, Reeve was nervously walking back and forth in the room which had been set up as a command centre for the mission. The circular layout of the space hosted an array of officers monitoring every detail of the undergoing operation behind computer screens, while other servicemembers carried pieces of news and updates from one working station to the other.

Reeve stopped, as an officer stood in front of him

"Sir, we have just received confirmation that the SISF squad has touched ground and is heading to the facility"

"What is the current location and status of our other assets in the area?" Reeve asked.

The officer tapped on the screen of his tablet

"The Shera is orbiting in a circular patter seven kilometres off the island, right above the landing fleet. All our assets are operational…"

Reeve nodded, walking away from the officer who returned to his duties without missing a beat. The WRO director walked towards a desk at the centre of the room, where Colonel Zansteid was contemplating a digital map of the island, filled with pop-ups about the status of the SISF squad and enemy elements

"The operation is underway…" Reeve sighed

"The team is due to report with the results of the reconnaissance operation in a couple of minutes" Zansteid briefed him "then the infiltration will commence. Plus, the submarine looks like it is still at anchor"

Reeve nodded again

"Sir, judging from the satellite readings, the facility is rife with spent nuclear fuel discarded from nuclear submarines" Zansteid continued "If the infiltration and the eventual assault will fail, are you sure you want to carry out the last resort plan?"

"Do we have any other options?" Reeve immediately replied

"I'm afraid we don't have any, Sir"

"Then we will do it" Reeve solemnly declared "We will do what is expected of us to do"

"Even if that means spilling an indefinite amount of nuclear waste into the sea?"

"The environmental damage can be contained" Reeve said "a massive series of earthquakes all around the globe cannot be, on the other hand. Beside, the energy released by the Mako if we hit the submarine while still close to the island will be less than a hundred of the energy freed if detonated over the fault…"

"Even if that means sacrificing the whole Special Intervention Service Force?"

Reeve halted. The question that had just come from the mouth of his adjutant was expected, to some degree, but Reeve felt uneasy as he tried to sound assuring and resolute

"Even if it will mean that" he finally replied "we'll eventually do it!"

Zansteid looked somehow satisfied as he returned to examine the digital map on the desk.

Reeve instead resumed walking back and forth. He sincerely hoped that Cade, Yuffie and everyone else involved would not fail.

Lieutenant Farron had just led the team out of the foliage. The track was now wider and let them proceed more rapidly.

Out of the foliage, though, the path took a steep ascent up a hill. When they finally reach the top of the mound, Sarah called for the squad to halt and gather around.

She quickly glanced at her watch. Luckily, they were ahead of the schedule. She took her binoculars and aimed somewhere in the distance. To the east, the orange shade was growing bigger and bigger as it tuned into a bright yellow right above the horizon.

Cade followed Sarah's gaze into the distance. A group of abandoned buildings stood in the distance, partially obstructed by a series of hills. If that was the facility they were meant to secure, it surely looked like it was abandoned

"Can you see the harbour?" he whispered to Sarah

"Nope!" the lieutenant replied "But it's all beyond those hills"

She looked back through the binoculars, then she put them back away

"Cassman, Juniper" she called, while two soldiers stepped forward. One of them was carrying a sniper rifle "You will be our eyes while we infiltrate the facility. Take the hill over there" she said, pointing at a rolling hill lying next to building, east of the compound. Form there, a sniper would have had a good visual of the entire harbour, plus being able to scope the moorings too

"As soon as you reach your assigned location" she continued "begin the recon operation!"

"Yes, Sir" the men replied at unison, while Sarah pinned a location on the map displayed by the device on her wrist

"All the others" Sarah told the rest of the team "follow me. We will try and probe the perimeter to see if there is a secluded passage. We did not encounter anyone so far, but be careful anyhow…"

"What's the plan?" Yuffie asked

"We will provide a diversion by advancing to the main command centre of the enemy while a second team will aim for the docks. Remember that the moment we will cross the perimeter of the base, the WRO will descend en masse upon the harbour…"

"Who will lead the detachment?" Biggs asked

"Well, guess who?" Sarah replied, looking at Cade, who shrugged

"How do we prevent the submarine from sailing away?" Perkins asked "Its crew will not stand idle while we barge into the base!"

"According to the readings the submarine is idle in the harbour. It takes time to fire it up plus an intervention from the crew ashore. It won't sail away by its own accord. If we control the piers, the submarine will be caged…"

"I'm ok with that" Yuffie replied

"Me too…" Cade agreed

"Let's go then. Cassman and Juniper, you are free to proceed to you assigned location. Everyone else, on me..."

Everyone nodded as they stood up and prepared themselves to resume their trek downhill towards the harbour

Onboard the Shera, Evan Kallstrom had momentarily left the main deck and all the crew to duck into the cockpit. There he found Cid, who was busy keeping the airship in its circular pattern, ready to divert the course upon short notice. Below them, a fleet of WRO warships and a couple of landing ships featuring long flat decks were patiently waiting their turn to roll into action upon being given the signal, lights shut off and disappearing in the dark canvas of the ocean only to reappear against the rising sun to the east

"What's humming in that head of yours, major?" Cid asked him, without taking his eyes off the sky ahead of him "Don't tell me you're nervous too…"

"In fact I'm not!" Evan shook his head

"Take it easy as much as you can , then" Cid grumbled "This mission is going to be a piece of cake. Ruding and all the others egg-head down below told me that the place is as empty as a brothel after somebody puts out the word a hooker's got crabs…" he laughed

"Whatever…" Evan sighed, as he momentarily slumped on the seat next to him

"When are the fireworks expected?" Cid asked, turning serious again

"Soon" Evan answered

"How soon?"

"Any second now…"

"The heck are you doing here then?"

"Am I bothering you, by chance?" Evan asked

"At all, but if those brats on that forsaken piece of land are going to wreck havoc soon you should get back in the deck. Besides, the sooner this whole ordeal ends, the quicker we go back home. Like I really crave for my frigging homestead these days…"

Evan shook his head. He wondered how the grumpy technician could put up such a convincing front of imperturbability. Surely cynicism was a great ally in facing the trials of life, although he could sense that even the thick-skinned Cid Highwind was worried about what was about to happen on the island

"How is your wife back home, by the way?"

"My wife?" Cid turned his head "She's fine. If she means to complain, well… she hasn't so far" he answered, bursting out cackling. He killed his own chuckle as soon as he noticed that Evan had a somber look on his face.

Cid let go of the flying stick. The Shera somehow kept its route. He turned towards Evan with his whole seat

"Look, I can read it from miles and miles that you are worried for your bird…" he told him

"Bird?" Evan grew a confused expression "What do you mean my bird?"

"Your girlfriend, damn it…" Cid exclaimed "Your girlfriend is about to wipe some asses but obviously you are still worried for her despite, sorry if I let that out, she is more badass than you…" he said with a smile

"I'm ok with that" Evan shrugged

"Anyway, Cade is down there. He'd rather be killed than letting someone else die. That is all" he reverted back to the cockpit "So don't get upset more than necessary, would ya?"

Evan sighed. He stood up and made his way back into the cockpit. In his heart, he wished he wouldn't be forced to say goodbye to anyone today.

3.

"The hell is that?"

As Kewell nearly shouted, everyone crouched as they scoped the surroundings. The trail had left the hill and had led the team into an open grassland punctuated by bushes. In the distance, a thick row of trees marked the beginning of the perimeter

"Where? Where?" Sarah anxiously asked as she looked around trying to point out the source of Kewell's apprehension

" Twelve o'clock, right before us" Kewell explained. The SISF squad arrayed in a semicircular formation as the medical officer indicated a short column partially surrounded by a group of bushes.

Cade took a look at it. Now that he looked better, he could spot several others similar objects scattered all around the grassy meadow they found themselves on. If they were supposed to be some kind of defence system, like proximity sensor or automatic turrets, it did not look like it was active. He made up his mind and slowly walked towards the nearest object

"The hell are you going?" Yuffie scolded him, as she caught wind of his intention

"Cade, turn back!" Sarah let a muffled shout out. Cade did not heed any of these calls as he carefully approached the rectangular-based booth in front of him. It wasn't a turret for sure.

He turned towards the rest of the team, waving his arms as to invite them to come closer. Sarah reluctantly agreed, with everyone else following suite, including Yuffie

"It's a terminal of some sort, nothing active anymore though" Cade explained them as he detached a panel form the booth, revealing bundles of weed growing inside the interior of the turret "The weeds and the rushes have turned into a useless monolith…"

"What about the others?" Sarah enquired

"Same here, lieutenant" a soldier replied from a turret not far from them "these devices have been left unattended for years!"

"Well, we had a luck shot then" Sarah commented, as he gazed towards the trees concealing the perimeter of the naval facility "we should get going and perform the reconnaissance from upon those hills over there. The WRO force is probably waiting for us…"

Cade nodded while Sarah gestured to order the team to follow her. As they resumed walking, Yuffie sprinted next to Cade

"Do something like that again and I swear I kill you myself…!" she bitterly hissed. Cade worried upon hearing the tone of hear voice but could not prevent himself from teasing her

"How are you going to explain that?"

"Spontaneous bullet discharge" she said, patting her side-arms "things that happen…"

"Are you even serious?"

"Cade, that thing could have been dormant and killed you the moment you touched it!" she told him, anger trading place with concern

"Well, it did not happen…"

"Jeez, what happened to the Cade who was almost crying like a toddler because he was afraid of dying right when things seemed finally ok for him?"

Cade stiffened at those words. For a moment, it seemed like an invisible spell had frozen him as he was about to thrust his feet into the soil while taking on the climb to the top of the hill from where they were meant to observe the site below them.

The following second, he continued walking, seemingly ignoring Yuffie's retort. The ninja walked behind him

"Sorry" she whispered "I shouldn't have said that"

Again, Cade ignored her

"Cade, you and Yuffie take this position here!" Sarah instructed them "This will be your observation point…"

"Got it…" Cade nodded, getting on the ground prone as he draw his set of binoculars while Sarah brought the rest of the squad further along.

Yuffie followed suit, standing next to him

"Cade" she quietly pressed "I told you I'm sorry…"

"I heard it…" he replied, deadpan. He looked through the lenses of his binoculars. The hill was tall enough to let them peek above the row of trees growing along what it appeared to be a fence with barbed wire on top of it. On the side of the perimeter facing their position, a series of warehouses stood. Beyond them an opening featuring a checkpoint separating the warehouses from the main dockyards. To the west, additional facilities rose, the ones that probably hosted the facility personnel when the base was operational. Floodlights stood on poles conveniently placed around the surface of the facility which, as Cade looked better, doubled up as sentry towers.

The whole place looked deserted.

"This is Lieutenant Farron. Has anybody made contact with anything or anyone so far?"

"Negative" Cade promptly replied on his radio "Not a soul in sight. It looks like the place is almost a fake…"

The rest of the team gave out a similar answer

"Ground team this is Shera" Evan's voice rang in the earpieces "do you confirm that the facility is empty?"

"It looks empty" Sarah corrected him "I can't shake the feeling there's something strange going on…"

Her words sent Yuffie chills down her spine. The place looked haunted as the first rays of the sun began casting eerie shadows on the square at the centre of the facility

"We have no contacts from the satellite images either" Evan told them "but the submarine is still anchored at the pier and it looks like it hotter than usual. Do we have to send in the WRO force anyway?"

"Please do" Sarah replied "lets' see how long are they going to play hide and seek…"

"Yuffie here" the ninja suddenly tapped into the broadcast "I think I found a place where we can infiltrate. A gash in the fence where a tree has fallen…"

Cade turned towards here. He admitted to himself Yuffie's sudden remark had startled him a bit

"Give me the position…" Sarah asked

"One o' clock from our observation point, less than three hundred metres down the hill"

"We're tracking your movements from here and we have complete control over the theatre. The WRO force is on its way…!"

"Roger that" Sarah exclaimed "we are now proceeding with the infiltration. We're heading towards the submarine. Cade, Yuffie, wait for the rest of the team to gather around your observation point. We will proceed from there. Ground team, out!"

The radio turned silent again. Cade paused a while before putting his binoculars away. Yuffie looked at him

"Cade… about what I told you before…" Yuffie tentatively said

"It's all right" Cade shook his head "Things that happen!" he smiled, echoing Yuffie's own words from before. She slapped him on the back, smiling

"You really made me feel upset back then…" she said

"Well it's not my fault if you talk before thinking" he replied, suppressing a laughter. Yuffie's eyes bulged

"Damn it, sometimes I wonder if I hate you just as much as I love you…"

Cade smiled again. He threw a quick look towards were the rest of the team was supposed to come from but still no one was coming

"Listen Yuffie" Cade asked her "I know it isn't maybe the most appropriate circumstance to ask something like that but… what would you like to do, I mean, after we get back home?"

Yuffie arched her eyebrows. Surely it wasn't the most appropriate circumstance to ask something like that, as he said. She was nonetheless struck by the fact that Cade was still able to cut himself some time to think about their future as a couple, even in a tense setting like that.

She thought upon an answer, then she replied

"First of all, I get things settled with my father" she told him "then, there is a place near Costa del Sol. It's not as tacky as the main town so it became a kind of haven whenever I wanted to take a rest away from home… we could spend some time there"

"Sounds cute…" Cade replied

"Me and you and the smallest amount of other human beings around, and finally a chance to enjoy the sun…" she gaily added

"Sounds nice…" Cade replied again

"So it's Costa del Sol then?"

"It is" Cade finally replied with a smile.

The sound of grass lightly treaded came to their ears and they turned to their left. The SISF team finally appeared, with Lieutenant Farron leading the way

"Let's go! The WRO force is on the move. If we don't get to the submarine in time they could make it sail away before we can incapacitate it…"

"Not that it looks like anyone is down there…" Biggs commented

Cade sighed, shaking his head "I've got the feeling it won't be that easy…"

"Feeling or not we have a mission to carry out. Come on!" Sarah finally spurred them, as they negotiated the rather steep descent toward the hole in the fence

"Why didn't they made us infiltrate by sea? It's seems more logic to me…" Perkins complained

"Because the water around the piers is so polluted by the radioactive waste that it would turn you sterile in a matter of seconds…" Kewell explained him

"…and make you die among atrocious suffering within minutes" Biggs completed the sentences. Perkins raised his head, as to let her know he had understood the matter all too well.

4.

The team quickly poured through the gash in the external fence, stepping over the fallen tree that had crushed the net beneath it before slamming into the aluminium sheets of a nearby warehouse. Cade thought to himself that even during its heydays the place might not have looked much better.

Above them bright, cerulean streaks were tearing the night sky apart. Soon it would have been daytime, with their chances of sneaking to the harbour undetected decreasing as minutes passed by

"Let's stick to the perimeter as long as we can" Sarah ordered, while fiddling with her PDA "I'm trying to plot a path to the harbour…"

"Any chances we can find a subterranean passage?" Biggs asked.

Sarah stopped. Her fingers tapped the screen of her device and a smile appeared on her face

"Good idea, Biggs!" she said triumphantly "In fact, there's a ventilation shaft that communicates with the harbour. The only problem is that it's located across the opening in the middle of the facility…"

"As if the place is heavily guarded…" Perkins puffed

Cade and Yuffie exchanged a concerned look. The fact that none of Brad's henchmen had appeared so far was eerie

"I'd better radio in and ask the Shera if they have some sort of reading" Sarah said

"What about the radioactive waste? Is that passage environmentally safe?" a soldier asked

"The spent nuclear fuel is stored elsewhere closer to the shoreline" Sarah shook his head "as far as that is concerned, the passage is safe indeed!" she replied, as she tapped her earpiece "Shera, do you copy?"

Her face grew worried as statics was the only answer she received. She tried another call and then another one, but the results were the same

"What's wrong?" Yuffie asked

"The frequency is jammed" she nervously told them. Sarah changed channel, trying to contact the sniper team back on the hill. The radio was fizzing with statics again

"Damn it!" she swore, gesturing with her arm as the whole team took cover sticking to the walls of the warehouses around them

"It began right when we stepped into this place" Kewell commented "they must have a jammer of some sorts here!"

"All right, but where?" Perkins hissed

"Calm down!" Sarah erupted, keeping her voice as muffled as she could "We can trace the disturbance but it will take time…"

"But the WRO force is already on the way!" Briggs noted "If they arrive before we get a hold of the harbour things will go awry!"

While witnessing the exchange, Cade tried to peek through the maze of alleyways before him. He subtlety changed his position, creeping until he found a place where he could have a partial visual of the opening. Parked vehicles stood lined up next to a stack of red and yellow striped barrels that caught his attention. Inside him, the instinct of the havoc bringer had suddenly awoken.

It was time to pull out a trick of his own.

He walked back to Yuffie

"Do you have your magic goblets with you?" he asked her

"Why? What do you have in mind?" she replied, without hiding her worry. Cade had just showed a strange light in his eyes. The ninja instinctively patted a leather pouch on her belt

"So you've got them…" Cade said with a smile, noticing Yuffie's reaction

"I brought them not a hundred percent willingly" she whispered

"Why not? Last time they saved your life…"

"You did" Yuffie smiled. Cade felt a wave of warmth relieving him from the chilly breeze of the early morning, despite the fact that his combat dress was tight and let no room for nasty gusts to seep through his garments. He put a hand on Yuffie's shoulder

"When I'll give you the signal, put one of these balls into your shuriken and throw it against that stack of barrels over there…"

Yuffie squinted her eyes trying to pinpoint what Cade was indicating her

"Which Materia do I have to use?"

"The same you used back in the Northern Crater to make everything explode…"

"What's up with you two?" Sarah sneaked upon her. Cade stood up

"With your permission Lieutenant" he said "I'd like to take command of the squad"

Sarah's eyes bulged. Everyone stood there, eager to listen what Cade had come up with this time

"I beg you pardon?" the lieutenant asked

"I think I found a way to reach the harbour…"

"You forgot to add 'unnoticed'" Biggs noted

"I did not forget anything" Cade shook his head "We'll have to ditch the stealth aspect of the mission. At least to some extent…"

"What makes you think I'll relinquish the command to you?"

"Because, dear Lieutenant" Cade told her "my plans are ugly and inelegant but sometimes they work. And with the WRO force on its way and probably only a couple of minutes away from here, we need to act fast and resolutely"

"Then go on" Sarah surrendered "I'm open to suggestion from my colleagues"

"Just tell me were the shaft is supposed to be" Cade said "I'll take care of the rest"

"Shit!"

Perched on top of the hill, his belly on the wet soil, corporal Cassman, the spotter of the sniping team, gritted his teeth

"What?" Juniper, the sniper, jolted at his team mate swearing "And where?"

"The building just beyond the security post on the northern side of the opening!" Cassman pressed, sounding excited and nervous at the same time. Despite his skills as a spotter that had led him to a prompt assignment to the newly-born SISF team, this was his first real assignment as a spotter. Of course, he would naturally fall prey to the nervousness generated by the desire to test his skills and do what he could do best to give his contribution to the mission.

Juniper on the other hand was more the cool guy. He was taught since he first got a hold of a hunting rifle back in the countryside around Niebelheim that a sniper's most prized virtue was patience, rather than aim.

He scoped the location below him with the eyesight of his long-barrelled sniper rifle. At the top floor of the building his spotter had pointed him, a shadow passed in front of a window. Juniper kept his sight on that spot, trying to tell if it was the genuine shape of someone going back and forth or maybe just an illusion from the tricky light of the sun about to rise in the distance.

The shadow reappeared again. And then again. It wasn't an illusion

"I see it!" he said "We've got company at last!"

"Yeah, but we're in deep shit if we can't contact them!" Cassman told him "The radio is dead on their side!"

"Then what are we going to do?"

"Let's wait some more. The lieutenant is not dumb, she will think of something…"

"So that's your plan? Waiting? What if they expect us to fire the first shot?"

Cassman put his binoculars back on. A movement in the opening, barely noticeable, had caught his attention. Surprise and amazement caught him as he stared in the distance at the event unfurling before his incredulous eyes

"I don't think so" Cassman replied to his teammate "In fact, I think they just gave us a signal…"

Back on the Shera, the atmosphere was hectic. The moments the communications with the SISF team were lost, Evan had personally grabbed every communications specialist and not by the collar and urged him to re-establish a connection with the ground team, all while the first landing ship had left the fleet, followed by the second one

"Can someone tell me what is going on?" he shouted, on the verge of becoming purple "And why can't we have their voices back on our radio?"

Ruding put a hand on his forehead "I already told you. The frequency is jammed. There must be a jamming device hidden somewhere…"

"I know that!" Evan interrupted him "I want to know why it happened!"

Ruding stared for an instant at the enraged officer, on the verge of combusting because of the anger and rage he was building up

"I don't know" he bowed his head "but we are working tirelessly to restore the communication link. Otherwise…"

"Sir!" an officer interrupted their dialogue "Five minutes to the landing of the main WRO force on the target!"

"That mean…" an alarmed Evan wondered

"They have five minutes to secure the spot before the landing force arrives" the officer nodded

"Can you delay them?" Evan asked almost begging "Buy the SISF a couple of more minutes?"

"I could, but we might put the kibosh on the entire operation if we lose tracks with the schedule!"

"Then do that!" Evan ordered "There's something amiss down there…"

"There's something else too!" Chipperfield called for Evan's attention. The assistant of the chief intelligence specialist was sporting a plaster over his left eyebrow, a memento from the stunt pulled back in Junon

"What's that?" Evan asked, rushing at his station

"Something has moved on its own…" the crewmember pointed at the screen before him. An orangey dot, against the blue background representing the layout of the naval base, had strayed away from the cluster of heath sources representing the SISF team. Another dot followed him closely

"What is that, again?" Evan bulged his eyes "What the hell is going on down there…"

He immediately sealed his lips as his mind had promptly provided for an answer

'What the hell are you doing this time, Cade?' he thought to himself.

6.

Lieutenant Sarah Farron closed her eyes and prepared to move through the alleyways between the warehoused. Just metres away from her position, hell had broken loose, more or less.

It all started with her, surrendering the task of finding a way to reach the piers to Cade. That guy had taken Yuffie with her and then, for reasons known only to him, had walked in the middle of the opening as if it was like strolling through a park on a Sunday walk.

Suddenly, hordes of thugs holding rifles equipped with laser scopes had appeared over the roofs of the buildings surrounding the open space. They had hesitated for an instant, as they had expected many more people to appear, but they swiftly cocked their guns as the surprise subsided.

Somebody shouted something. Voices overlapping in an effort to convince Cade to probably surrender and drop whatever weapon he had with himself.

Pretty naïve by their side.

Then something else happened, something more spectacular. Sarah did not see Yuffie's shuriken, loaded with a pack of fire Materia, whirling in the air as it glided just inches away from a stack of barrels containing vehicle fuel. It ignited as the gleaming shuriken passed by, sending a wave of heath across the whole facility as a yellow, bright column rose in the twilight sky, casting light where shadows still dwelled.

Sarah ignored what Cade and Yuffie would have done later on. All she had to do was to move forward and rapidly comb the warehoused on the eastern side of the facility in order to find the microwave jammer and disable it.

As her team burst into the first warehouse, they spotted a group of enemy soldiers climbing through a staircase. Sarah did not have to think twice: she opened fire soon followed by Perkins and Biggs, always ready to shadow her every move, and the enemy party quickly took the opposite route towards the floor.

Someone from above fired from the skylight

"I'll take care of that…" an SISF soldier made his way into firing position, toting his machine gun. He let loose a salvo of bullets which nearly sheared the skylight frame from the roof, along with the enemy soldier falling down. The machine gun erupted again, spraying the ceiling, in an effort to hit as many enemy as possible with its piercing bullets flying through the tin layers they encountered

"This place is cleared!" Perkins howled

"Let's move to the next one then" Sarah replied, as they went through a side door, ready to barge into the next building.

At the other side of the facility, Yuffie was asking herself why she could not resist to follow Cade's machinations, even when they seemed death wishes rather than plans. She also asked herself how come they turned out to work so often.

Cade had walked right in the middle of the opening, luring the enemies who where probably planning to ambush the SISF team once it would have been on a spot suitable to be trapped. Cade must have messed with their plan somehow. He had then given her the signal and Yuffie had dutifully thrown her shuriken at the stack of barrel. The result was a thunderous explosion which had nearly threw her off her feet.

They had both rushed then to take cover in the middle of the row of parked trucks. A couple of them had been damaged by the explosion, while two more had been charred beyond recognition. The remaining truck seemed still fit for duty. Cade opened the door and dragged Yuffie with him. Outside, a fierce exchange of rounds was taking place between the two rows of buildings

"And let's add up this one to the list of times Cade has saved the day…" Cade enthusiastically chanted as he removed a lid under the steering wheel

"I hate to clip your enthusiasm" Yuffie replied "but we have still a couple of more days to save…". She put her shuriken, collected has it landed safely back into his hand, back at his place strapped behind her. The engine of the truck roared as Cade coupled the wires he had pulled from the compartment

"Let's roll then" Cade told her "the day has just begun!" He pushed the gas pedal downward, with the engine roaring again and setting the vehicle into motion. A rain of bullets and projectiles was pounding the rear compartment, as the vehicle's start had not gone unnoticed

"What are you planning to do next?"

"Strange, I expected you to ask me that with a bit more of fear in your voice…"

"Oh, never mind that" Yuffie shook her head "I get used to certain things pretty quickly"

"Such as?"

"Such as you trying to ram a truck through a security checkpoint!"

Yuffie pointed her arm towards the security gate, barely visible through the windowpane. The glass was still intact but bullets had cracked it on multiple spots. The same went for the windshields. If those soldiers had hit the tires too, that had gone past unnoticed.

The truck charged against a lowered barrier, hurling plastic barrels and wooden stands away as it made its way into the harbour section of the facility, crashing against a pile of crates covered by tarpaulin. Apparently the road bent sharply leftwards just after the checkpoint, but the truck, already launched at full speed, was not manoeuvrable enough to negotiate it.

Cade slammed the door open and fired a salvo with his rifle towards a bunch of enemy soldiers running outside from the security booth. Yuffie did the same by his side. Both enemy parties fell down.

"This way!" Cade gestured towards the ninja, who followed him

"So, what's our plan now?" Yuffie asked him

Cade took a glance at his watch

"The WRO forces is just a couple of minutes away. I'd say we take and hold a spot at the piers and we wait for them and the rest of the team…"

"What if the submarine sails away before we meet up?"

"That must not happen…"

"You didn't answer my question!" Yuffie noted

They took cover behind a giant spool. Cade peeked and shoot two or three times at someone in the distance

"I told you!" he said, reloading his rifle "That must not happen. And it will not happen!"

"Whatever…" Yuffie shrugged, as they left their cover heading down to the pier. Behind them, explosions and cracking rifles where breaking the stillness of the dawn

"Look!" Cade pointed eastward "It's sunrise already…"

Yuffie slapped him on the back "I'll pretend I did not hear that…"

"I was just trying to be nice" Cade moaned, eyes still down the sight of his rifle though

"Be nice when this ordeal will be over, okay?"

"Fine" he replied "Have you noticed that this section of the facility seems deserted?"

Yuffie looked around. Somebody may have appeared behind them, retreating from the battle raging on at the warehouses. Provided it was the SISF the one with the upper hand. Other than that, the piers where basically empty.

They kept walking side by side, still keeping themselves on edge ready to welcome any undesired apparition. Then, they finally reached the piers.

Three concrete strips protruded from the embankment. A vessel was moored at the rightmost of the three docks. It was the Dragonette

"There it is!" Yuffie exulted. Her mind challenged the fact that such a small craft was harbouring a power capable of topping the whole world. They took cover behind a stack of discarded material as they stared at the eerily silent scene

"What is happening back there?" Cade asked, head towards the smoke pillar raising from the warehouse quarter of the naval facility

"Your friends are killing time while they wait for the fireworks to go off" a voice replied. At the same time, rifles clicked and crates and other props were pulled aside as enemy soldiers appeared around them

"Cade, enough playing hide and seek" the voice contemptuously continued "it's time for you and your friend to step forward!"

Cade and Yuffie froze there on the pier. A figure moved forward in open air between the gun toting soldiers. Needless to say, it was none than other than Brad Clawbourne

"Sorry, Brad!" Cade apologized "You don't mind if we crashed your party"

Brad shrugged. He was wearing a black tactical suit. Something was eerily off in his demeanours. He was calm and composed but menacing nonetheless, with the patch on his eyes only making his appearance more foreboding.

Brad's eye rested on Yuffie "It was a nice shot back there in Junon. I wouldn't have done better myself" he said, pointing at the patch

"You wouldn't have hit the water in the ocean with a rock even with both eyes working, Brad" Cade teased him

Brad laughed out loud, his laughter overshadowing the noise of the battle still going on at the warehouses section

"Cade, I hate to say that but you will be missed. At least the part of you that does not meddle with my plans" he said "Are those supposed to be the… things they gave you to cripple the submarine?"

A soldier walked next to Cade, seizing the explosives. Cade opposed no resistance. Yet he and Yuffie were still grasping their weapons

"You look so self-assured Brad" Cade spoke "what makes you think I won't try to kill you here right on the spot?"

"Who said you can't do that?" Brad replied "Of course, nothing will prevent the submarine to set sail, should I be killed here. Or the spent fuel depots to go off and bringing the worst environmental disaster in years about…"

Cade and Yuffie stared at the submarine with apprehension

"That's right" Brad nodded "the submarine is all prepped up and ready to leave at my signal. And I have a little insurance should your friends over there decide to even slightly touch it…"

"I doubt I will be able to convince you to desist…" Cade shook his head

"You got it right" Brad nodded "And you, my dear Cade, will have a seat in the front row, witnessing the show we have prepared for you all…"

"You are a twisted man, Brad Clawbourne" Yuffie spat "Nothing will ever justify what you were planning to do. Nothing!"

Brad shook his head "I'm not looking for your justification, you pathetic sore twat. I'm just looking forward to see this world crumble, and with it every meaningless soul treading its surface"

"But why?" Yuffie cried "Do you really think this is going to bring back whoever you lost?"

"As Cade brilliantly pointed out" Brad replied, unfazed by her comment "there's no point in convincing me to do otherwise. Better brace yourself. It's not going to be an easy ride from here"

Then Brad walked up to Cade "Hey, cheer up Tuesti! If you will be so lucky to die you'll be able to meet Kayla again. Are you looking forward to it? Damn it, don't tell me that you haven't been able to fuck her in all the months you…"

A sudden movement cut Brad's words almost as suddenly. Cade swung his arm and landed a well placed fist right on Brad's lips, opening them up, blood spurting from a gash on his upper lip.

The soldiers tightened their ranks. Brad raised a hand, as to instruct them not to respond. He spat a reddish speck of gob on the floor

"Ah, I can't even joke with you, Tuesti. You are deadly serious…"

Cade took a fierce stand, fist tightly clenched

"Anyway, if my calculations are corrected, your friends should land here any second now. By the time they'll have devised the position of the charges in the spent fuel depot, we will be already at open sea"

Brad grinned, launching a smug look at the two of them. In the background, rifles were still cracking in the distance. Although outnumbered, the SISF was still putting on a hell of a fight

"So, how does it feel to be powerless, Cade? Looks like your nightmares have turned into reality…"

"Are you going to kill us or what? You're boring the hell out of me…" Cade protested

"Of course not" Brad shook his head "For the same reason I shot her instead of you back in the crater. Remember?"

"You are so spineless you made someone else do it. Remember?" Yuffie echoed him. Somehow, her reply struck a chord in him, as Brad draw a gun from a holster on his belt. His arm outstretched as he aimed at Yuffie

"You want me to do an encore of that pretty little tragedy? You know, I might not kill Cade, but if that would mean make him suffering I can shoot you instead…"

Yuffie gulped. Cade's eyes bulged. Brad was bluffing, sure as gold. But to what extent?

Suddenly a man appeared on the dockside, emerging from the ladder leading to the quays below

"Sir, the submarine is ready to set sail!" the man shouted from afar

Brad slightly turned his head. He lowered his arm

"Ah, fuck it" Brad suddenly grumped, raising his gun again "I'm going to give myself a present before I sail!"

He cocked the handgun. Yuffie stared in disbelief at the muzzle of the gun pointed towards her. On his side, Cade nearly rushed to his gun. He was aware of the fact that by killing Brad nothing would have really changed but at least he would have saved Yuffie.

Provided the fellows around them did not gun them down shortly afterwards.

All those calculations proved to be futile, eventually. A whistle filled the air. Everyone turned around as the mysterious sound grew in intensity.

Then a bright flash erupted not far from the quayside, engulfing a building which stood right on the boundary between the piers and the warehouses.

The powerful explosion knocked everyone on the ground. Yuffie saw a giant flash wrestling her sight before falling on the ground unconscious.

"Are you sure it was surgical enough?" Evan asked

"It's a radiation seeking missile" Ruding explained "It goes all the way down a chimney. Besides, no one is near the jamming facility, at least no one we care about…" the IT specialist added with a grin

"Whatever it was" Evan replied "we are about to discover it first hand!"

7.

Yuffie slowly regained consciousness.

She felt a pat on her shoulder which grew more relentless as she refused to wake up. Tasting the concrete in her mouth, she finally opened her eyes, realising she was laying prone on the ground. There were no more sounds of gunfire in the background, only people shouting orders and the noise of helicopters flying above

"There it is, she woke up!" a voice spoke "Tell the lieutenant we found her"

Yuffie rolled on her back. Feeling an eerie sensation over her face, she passed a hand on her cheeks and forehead, only to irk as the palm of her hand turned out

"Don't touch your face m'am!" the same voice that had woken her up urged her "You are full of scratches on your face. You don't want to put even more dirt on your wounds…"

Scratches? How did she got them? It all felt so confused and hectic…

Yuffie turned towards the medic who was tending to her

"What happened?" she asked him

"You were caught in the blast of the explosion…"

"Which explosion?"

"One of our gunship launched a missile to destroy a jamming facility" the medic explained "We thought nobody was near it…"

Apparently, judging by the number of soldiers roaming around the piers, the WRO had finally landed in the facility. Did it mean that the mission was over? Perhaps accomplished?

She quickly got up, startling the corpsman, who was deep into dressing her wounds. She felt a bit dizzy as she jumped on her feet all of a sudden

"Hey calm down!" the medic protested. Yuffie did not care about him. She took a look at the moor where the _Dragonette_ stood the last time she saw it.

Now the vessel was not there anymore

"Where is the submarine?" she frantically asked, towering the medic who was still knelt on the ground "Where is it?" she almost begged to know

The soldier was about to voice his obliviousness, but a call came from behind her shoulder

"Yuffie!"

Yuffie turned and saw Lieutenant Sarah Farron running towards her

"Yuffie!" the lieutenant walked the last bit up to her "Thank God you are here. I was looking for you everywhere!"

"Sarah! What happened?" Yuffie frantically asked

"What is the last thing you remember?"

"I was at the dock, right there" she explained "We were… ambushed by Brad and his gang…" she faltered, as she felt the urge of sitting down again. She felt like all her stamina had left her all of a sudden "The submarine has disappeared again…!"

"Can somebody give me a stretcher please?"

"A stretcher?" Yuffie replied, puzzled. Meanwhile two corpsmen were already rushing to her spot with a orange "I don't need no goddamn stretcher!"

"Whatever" Sarah shrugged "I'll have you taken on the _Shera_ right now, though. Get yourself checked a bit, will you? Do you manage to walk?"

"What? The _Shera_ is here?" Yuffie asked

"Of course" Sarah nodded "It landed right after the main contingent had seized the entire facility"

"I can walk" she assured her "Where is Cade?" she suddenly asked

"We are looking for him" Sarah replied "We honestly thought you could tell us where he is. Wasn't he with you?"

Yuffie stopped on her tracks upon a path carved by the explosion of the missile against the building which hosted the microwave jamming device. Around them soldiers were corralling prisoners and evaluating damages to the facility.

Yuffie heart momentarily stopped beating as she recalled the events leading up to that moment: they were making their way towards the piers when none others than Brad Clawbourne had appeared. He was just about to kill Yuffie on the spot when the missile had struck, saving them from a point blank execution.

But apparently Cade was nowhere to be seen. It was not like him to hide out in such a circumstance. And the submarine had definitely set sail, maybe in the aftermath of the chaos brought by the explosion and the landing of the WRO forces.

Things were not looking good

"Let's get in the _Shera_ " Yuffie suddenly burst "We'll look for him later"

She took point and ran towards the opening amidst the warehouses, a space large enough to allow the airship to fit in. She ran to the back of the hull, finding the SISF team loitering at the base of the ramp

"Hey, look who's there!" Perkins greeted her

"Jeez Yuffie" Elena marvelled at her face "Did you shave your face with barbed wire?"

"Has anyone seen Cade?" Yuffie frantically asked, panting

"Cade?" Kewell frowned "He was with you last time we saw him…"

"Yuffie!" a voice called her from inside the ship. It was Evan

"Evan!" Yuffie shouted, hopping towards him "Cade is… nowhere to be found!"

"That guy surely can't have just disappeared into thin air…" Perkins wondered

"Yuffie, we thought you know where he was… we lost contact with him the moment the missile struck. We didn't know you were close to the jamming device!"

"What about his beacon?" Yuffie enquired. Her heart was beating faster than ever. Cade had to be somewhere. And possibly safe and sound

"We are trying to locate him as we speak" Evan made a gesture inviting all the special forces team inside the hull "Him and the submarine?"

"What about it?" Sarah enquired "What are we going to do now that we couldn't prevent the submarine from setting off?"

"We have sent a naval squadron to chase and stick to its tail…" Evan explained as they made their way to the main deck "Even if we fire on it, the Mako bomb would explode and catch our ship in the explosion"

"And the detonation would still be dangerous as the submarine is still into the hazard area…" Ruding met the party as they set foot on the main deck "Glad to see you safe, Yuffie. We lost you for a second…"

"But there is no sight of Cade…" she helplessly replied

"Don't worry" Ruding reassured her "If he's out there, we'll find him"

"Sir, Edge is online" a servant had rushed to Evan, who nodded

"We are expecting to report to Reeve" he announced, as a giant screen appeared in the middle of the deck. Reeve appeared on screen

" _Shera_! Do you copy us?" Reeve asked

"Loud and clear" Evan replied "We are ready to report!"

"Come in, then!"

"We were unable to prevent the submarine from sailing away" Evan bowed his head. Behind Reeve, a murmur erupted

"The submarine has just entered the hazard area" Evan continued "That means that if the explosion takes place right now, we will have to face the consequences of a massive seaquake"

Reeve, at the other end of the wire, paused

"Did we suffer any casualties?"

"No, Sir" Evan replied "No casualties on our side…"

"Although…" Yuffie offered, shutting herself up quite instantly

"Although what?" Reeve amicably enquired

"Cade is missing" Evan said

"What does it mean?" Reeve asked

"In the aftermath of the missile strike and the mass landing of WRO forces, we lost contact with Yuffie and Cade. Yuffie has been retrieved, as you can see…"

"…But there is still no sight of Cade" Yuffie finished for him

Reeve stood silent for a while. He turned to Zansteid

"Colonel, the situation is critical" he told him "Please notify all units stationing on the Oceanic Rim area to evacuate all the people from the coastline as much as inland as they can"

"What will you tell them? If a mass evacuation is ordered, there will be mass panic everywhere" Evan asked

"We are prepared to deal with it, don't be worried…"

"So it is over?" Yuffie wondered

"I'm afraid there is nothing more we can do" Reeve shook his head "We have missed the chance to strike at the submarine while it was still at anchor, but that would have meant killing the entire SISF team along… and up to that moment the situation looked like it was still manageable"

"But somehow, Brad managed to sneak the vessel under our eyes"

"So we give up, right?" Yuffie feistily replied "Everything we have done, everything we fought for… it was all for nothing. Now we simply stand here and watch the world crumble. Isn't it?"

A spooky silence fell on the deck of the airship. Yuffie couldn't believe that they had all reached the end of the road. It couldn't be. Not after what everyone had been through. That was simply unfair. Millions of people dying, cities and towns razed to the ground…

And Cade was nowhere to be found, either.

"Yuffie" Reeve spoke "I'm sorry. All we can do is try to contain the damage…

This was quite the opposite she had envisioned. There was hardly a future from now on. And then the irony: she had fought enemies thousands and thousands of times more powerful than a bunch of depressed, delusional terrorist, yet she couldn't keep up with the most human adversaries she had encountered so far

"Maybe we can override the submarine mainframe and divert it to a safer spot…" Ruding was proposing to one of his aide

"Forget it" his subordinate swiftly replied "They have busted the mainframe through to through…"

Maybe it was better for the world to end. At least , for the world as she used to know it. She was a failure. There was no chances her actions could have left a positive mark. There was simply no place in the world for her. Nor for her dreams, nor for her aspirations.

She walked and took a seat. She felt like she really needed to shout and cry. How would have Cade reacted to the perspective that the world was about to end? Maybe he would have welcomed that with a smile, knowing that, after all, he was about to reunite with the countless people he had lost during his life

'Cade' she thought to herself 'Why have you disappeared right when I needed you the most?'

"What's with the nuclear stockpile?" Evan asked a subordinate

"We are almost done with it" the WRO officer replied "Most of the ordnance has been disposed and taken care of…"

"Good" Evan nodded "Get ready to evacuate all the WRO personnel. The bomb might explode any minute now…"

"Sir, incoming transmission!" a technician suddenly announced

"Well, what's with all the excitement? Just pass it on the secondary channel…"

"Sir, the transmission…" the WRO officer explained

"The transmission, what?" Evan spurred him, translating next to his station

"Sir, it's coming from the _Dragonette_!"

Even Reeve jumped on his seat, thousands of kilometres away, picking up that announcement. Yuffie sprung up too

"Sir" another technician echoed "We have located Tuesti's beacon"

"What?" Yuffie shouted "Cade! Where is he?"

"Too much stuff all at once…" Sarah shook her head as the sudden turn of the events acted like a catalyst, hyping up the morale of the whole crew of the _Shera_

"The hell is happening here?" a grumpy voice thundered over the voices of the crew shuffling throughout the main deck "Are they giving away free beer to celebrate the demise of Gaia? That's the only reason I could figure such a brawl…"

"We found him!" Yuffie cheered, running towards Cid

"Found who?" Cid asked

"Cade! Who else?"

"What? Did he even disappeared?" Cid scoffed

"Ah, fuck you Cid" Yuffie punched him on the torso, with no tangible effects on his side "They could take the ground off your feet in one fell swoop and you would only feel a draft at your arse…"

Cid shook his head, drawn to the workstation were the technician who was tracking Cade's beacon was sitting at

"So" Evan pressed him "Where is he? Ruding, go manage the incoming communication"

Ruding nodded, flying to the console next to the one Evan was staring at

"Well, the signal comes from…" the WRO officer explained, before being struck with disbelief "It can't be…"

The mark corresponding to Cade's position was right were the _Dragonette_ was supposed to be

"Cade is on the submarine…" Yuffie realized, eyes bulged

"What?" Reeve shouted from afar

"Sir, we are ready to copy the transmission"

Yuffie felt hope punching through the lumps of sorrow in her sound

"That can't be…"

"It's Cade, everything can be when he is around" Evan smiled

"Wait, wait" Sarah claimed their attention "what if somebody accidentally brought his beacon onboard? And what guarantees do we have that he is still alive…"

"Lieutenant Farron" a voice went off the loudspeakers in the deck "I am sorry to hear you still doubt my skills…"

It was Cade.

8.

Owing to his outstanding sight, Cade had caught wind of the incoming missile just in time to brace himself. That allowed him to drop on the ground and better withstand the effects of the explosion.

While the harbours were swept away by the shockwave, he had stuck to Brad and his posse, who were making a run for the submarine. The vessel had been promptly started up, its engines now running at full power.

Surprisingly, Brad was focused on reaching the submarine and did not realize that someone was still after him. Battered by the explosion and trying to ignore the loss of equilibrium that came with every step forward he made, Cade was running towards the pier where the _Dragonette_ was moored, gunning down and taking care of any obstacle who stood in his way.

Brad leapt down on the submarine's bridge, reaching for the main hatch. For some inexplicable twist of fate, the auxiliary hatch was still open and seemingly unguarded.

Gunship had appeared in the sky above, strafing huddles of enemies with their machineguns in an effort to help soften resistance before the WRO forces landed. While Cade reached for the passage, head had appeared inside the hatch. Without second thoughts, Cade shot him point blank and the corpse of the unaware sailor fell down the staircase.

Cade dived into the submarine's interiors, closing the hatch behind him. He leapt down the ladder and without even thinking, he emptied his weapon gunning down the party of soldiers he met upon landing down below.

Cade had guessed that he could not expect any of them to cooperate. It was better to wipe that scum from the face of Gaia and prevent Brad from achieving his goal. He would have settled scores with his conscience once back on the land, when it would have been all over.

When he would have been finally able to see Yuffie again.

Spurred by that thought, he made his way to the commanding room while the roar of the engines echoed throughout the hull. The crew was apparently kept at a bare minimum, that being a suicide mission, and he met no further resistance.

Once he found himself in front of the door separating him from the command room, he checked and reloaded his weapon, draw a breath and readied a grenade.

He knocked on the door

"What's up with them guys now?" he heard a voice asking

"We have a problem with one of the engines" Cade replied "I think it's about to explode"

"Explode?" the man asked incredulously. Cade could hear steps coming towards him. The man slammed the door open.

He did not even had time to utter a syllable: Cade's rifle shouted, thrusting him back at the centre of the command room. He hurled the grenade in front of him taking shelter behind the door.

The grenade went off, blinding and stunning everyone inside the compartment. Cade burst in and mowed everyone down. With the back of the eye he could see someone making a run for a passage opposite his position and closing the door behind him.

The whole action had lasted less than five minutes. Cade, still panting, contemplated the gory scenery of bodies strewn across the floor and blood on the panels. It looked like a slaughterhouse.

He checked every corpse, hoping to find Brad among them. Maybe still alive. Just to give him a taste of his own medicine.

Unfortunately Brad was not there. And apparently, no one was alive enough to ask.

He sprinted towards the stern of the vessel. If he remembered correctly, the compartments ahead of him ultimately hosted the small nuclear reactor powering the submarine. The Mako was probably stored there as well.

The door that led into the nuclear reactor room was open. Cade carefully trespassed the threshold, finding himself immersed in a bluish and greenish light. The nuclear core was slotted into a wall at the end of the room opposite the entrance. At its feet stood a black box rife with caution tags emanating a sinister green light.

And next to it stood Brad

"Well" the man said "If this isn't an unexpected visit. Cade nice to see you…"

As a reply, Cade aimed his gun and fired. A bullet hit Brad in his leg. He collapsed with a groan

"Civilized people usually say 'hi'" Brad teased him, holding tightly to his wounded leg "but who am I to judge the customs of the North" he laughed

"If you hope you are going to get killed wit a snap, forget it" Cade bitterly replied "You are going to pay for this, Brad. All of it and tenfold!"

"Cade!" Brad laughed hysterically "You can do me whatever you want. Like I care about a thing…" he patted the black box "This jewel will change the world. For the worst I hope. Too bad you are stuck here, it would have been pretty interesting to see how things would have turned out on the surface…"

"What makes you think that it will eventually go off?" Cade retorted

"Come on. Can't you see all this red signs on the panel?" Brad pointed at a console whose display was all red "The core of the nuclear reactor is about to give in. The nuclear fuel will eventually spill and react with the Mako. It's not me, it's physics…" Brad cackled, but his laughter was cut short by another bullet on his other leg

"Oh, Cade" Brad marvelled "I didn't expect you to be such a sadist. Guess I had the wrong idea about you all along… I bet you were excited watching Kayla slowly die in your arms"

Cade froze upon these words. He was really tempted to kill Brad right there on the spot. But it would have been too easy

"Cade, I have an idea" Brad smiled "Why don't you join me? You know, I've carefully thought upon the matter and I've realized that we are identical as two drops of water: we both lost something we loved and we had to fend off the world while we finally reached our private heavens… Does it sound familiar to you? Join me and let's put our differences aside. It will be fun. I promise it…" he said, followed by an hysterical laughter.

Cade had enough of that. Even on the verge of death, Brad's hysterical malignancy was starting to have a negative effect on himself. He fired a volley right at his chest. Brad jolted as bullets lodged in his stomach. Blood spurted from his mouth

"Ah, fuck" he protested "that's a mess…"

"That was for Yuffie, and thank whoever you like that she's still alive and better than me"

Cade made a step forward

"And the next one is for someone you'll meet soon" he continued "Any wish before dying in a way that, still, I consider too dignified for a maniac piece of shit like you?"

"Ah, well if you insist…" he told Cade "Then you don't mind if I fuck Kayla in the Lifestream…"

Cade fired a single shot in the middle of the forehead. Brain matter and blood were splattered on the wall behind him.

That was the end of Brad Clawbourne

"Creepy to the very end!" Cade exclaimed, contemplating the liberating way of a lifeless Brad strewn against the nuclear reactor "You know, we might be two drops of water, Brad. I'll give you that. But unlike you I ended up in a pool of water instead of a pool of shit" he finally remarked.

Now what? Brad's plan was still rolling, despite his demise. The air in the reactor compartment felt hot and heavy, almost poisonous. Cade figured that it wasn't a sound idea to remain in that room for long.

He dashed back to the deck, leaving Brad's corpse behind him. As soon as he found himself in front of what he thought was the radio console, he started tweaking the knobs and entering codes, hoping to dial up the _Shera_ somehow.

Luckily enough, after a couple of tries, he managed in his intent.

"How did you end up in the submarine?" Evan asked, still coming to terms with the pleasant discovery

"It's a long story…" Cade cut short

"Cade! Are you all right?" Yuffie asked, apprehension in her voice

"I'm all right Yuffie" Cade replied "Sorry if I left you behind. There were some stuffs to take care of, you know…"

"Cade, what's the status of the submarine?" Ruding asked "Reeve is here with us, at least virtually"

"Oh, really?" Cade said "Marvels of the technology… well, the submarine is devoid of any human presence I think. Except for me of course…"

"You mean the crew…" Reeve intervened

"They are all dead. Brad too" Cade told him "Sorry uncle. If you wished to organize a trial, I think there will be no defendants at the bar"

"That's not a concern" Reeve smiled "We have to take care of the submarine and its dangerous load. Public relations will have to wait for now"

"Cade, did you find the Mako?" Evan asked

"It's right next to the reactor" Cade explained "And that's were the bad news begin: apparently the reactor is in shambles. They planned to use a nuclear fuel leak as a primer"

"Can you do something from there?" Yuffie asked

"There's little I can do" Cade pondered "Apart from steering this thing away from the place it was supposed to blast off"

"We are plotting an area where the detonation will yield the least damage" Reeve announced "It will be uploaded to the _Shera_ in no time"

"Besides" Cade noticed "I've never sailed a submarine like this before. I could use some help…"

"Don't worry" Ruding announced "We have the instruction manual for that submarine and possibly the entire catalogue of the WRO fleet at hand. As soon as we have the new course…"

"Sir!" a technician announced "We have just received the set of coordinates"

"Wonderful!" Ruding exclaimed "Chipperfield, have the manual for the commandeering of a Seagull-class light submarine ready…"

Yuffie witnessed that exchange without speaking a word

'Please, Cade, for the sake of both of us and everyone in this world' she thought 'take that thing away from there! And make it back in one piece!'

Ruding carefully guided Cade in the procedure to set the submarine autopilot on the course to the coordinates the _Shera_ had just received. The vessel glided underwater as it steered towards the designated safety area

"Submarine changing course" somebody announced, much to the delight of everyone involved. Yuffie was overwhelmed by excitement and hope. The sudden and welcomed twist in the events was something only Cade could have been capable of

"Well, now the autopilot is set" Cade announced "I think that the only thing to do is getting out of here…"

"The Dragonette is supposed to have a couple of escape pods astern. Go check them out. We'll tell you how to operate them if needed…"

"Sure thing. I'm on…" Cade was about to talk but a sudden shock interrupted him. The whole hull of the submarine trembled and screeched as the deck plunged into a temporary darkness. Half of the illumination came back almost instantly, along with a plethora of warnings. Popping up in the panels not damaged by the gunfight earlier on. The commotion was felt back in the _Shera_ too, as a burst of static momentarily cut the communications between Cade and the airship

"What's happening now?" Evan asked, fearing the worst "Cade, are you still with us?"

"..I am…" his voice emerged back from the statics as the broadcast cleared up

"Sir, the submarine is going down" an officer announced "It's on collision course with the bottom of the ocean!"

"Cade, what the hell is going on there?" Yuffie shouted

"I don't know" Cade replied "There are a lot of warnings going off al at once…"

"The damage control panel!" Ruding urged him "Look at the damage control terminal, it should tell you what's happening…"

Cade rushed to a terminal while thrusting his feet on the floor to negotiate the sudden listing of the submarine

"Damage control terminal, damage control… here it is…" he started reading the feed being scrolled down on the screen "Main generators offline, skeleton mode on… The hell is a skeleton mode?" he shouted

"Cade!" Evan shouted "Pull the bar towards you! The submarine is going to plunge at the bottom of the sea!"

. He rushed to the seat in front of a control stick and pulled them with all the strength he could apply. At last the submarine seemed to respond to his action and it levelled back again

"Damn it, that was close…" Evan sighed

"I've got bad news, everyone" Ruding meekly announced

"What?" Yuffie asked "What is it now?"

"The submarine reactor is failing" Ruding explained "All the main systems are being disconnected but Brad and his gang must have tampered with the submarine's mainframe…"

"What do you mean?" Yuffie pressed on

"The mainframe is making only the vital system run. It has disconnected everything but the engines and the controls…"

"Wait!" Evan intervened "That doesn't mean that…"

Silence engulfed the deck of the airship once again. Yuffie again stood petrified. She feared what was coming up, although she had already, realized that good news were over.

Cade was doomed.

With no energy powering the escape pods, there was no way he could have escaped the submarine. Maybe he could have made his way out from it and swam to the surface, but that was a suicide attempt.

He was fated to be trapped into the vessel, which would have turned into his coffin any minute now

"Are you trying to tell me that without power the escape pods won't work?" Cade asked. His voice was genuinely concerned. Evan himself had never heard him so worried in all his life. And neither Reeve

"I'm afraid so" Ruding shook his head

"Maybe if I pop out of the hull and swim to the surface… there might be some breathers around…"

"The worst part is that the autopilot will be off too. We must have someone stuck to the controls otherwise the submarine will plunge again…"

Silence came from the submarine, interspersed with Cade's heavy breathing. He finally let a sigh out

"And that would make the whole story pointless" Cade pondered "Everything we have made and done. Everyone who has died…"

His voice has slightly cracked on the last word

"How long to the safety zone?" Ruding asked

"Less than three nautical miles…" an officer replied

In the control room of the _Dragonette_ , Cade reverted back to the pilot's seat

"Basically I'll make a last stand and keep this tin can on its tracks" he sighed "Everyone will be safe. Even if that means sinking with it…"

"No!" Yuffie stood up "That can't be! Cade, there must be a way to get out of that thing. Just think! Isn't you who always told me that there always a way out?" she cried, tears in their eyes

"Yuffie" Cade replied "I'm afraid this time there isn't"

Only the Gods knew what was crossing Reeve's mind right now. The man he had virtually raised and protected as if he was his son was about to die. The screen definition wasn't high enough to tell his emotion by staring at him.

Likewise, none on the deck was considering the fact that millions of people were out of danger as the submarine covered the remaining distance separating it from the safety zone. Nobody was thinking about the fact that they were about to accomplish their mission. With minimum casualties, on top of that. Not when that single casualty was someone like Cade.

Everyone was thinking about the loss that they were about to experience.

They were about to lose a friend

"Come on kid" Cid begged, eyes wide open "You can't die here… You owe me several rounds at the Headquarters' Bar"

"Damn it Cade!" Evan shook his head "I've never had a reason to hate you. And honestly, if you want to give up and sacrifice yourself for the sake of everyone of us… I won't stand in your way. I'm not going to hate you for that. Still…"

A relative. A nephew. A son, virtually

"Cade!" Reeve told him, with a seemingly otherworldly composure "Before you go, do you happen to have a minute for your uncle?"

"I surely do have, Reeve. I think I've got time for everyone" Cade calmly and joyfully replied, nowhere like a man who was about to die "Come on, speak first. I've never been able to properly start a conversation, you know"

"Well, this will probably enrage you but let me tell you I'm sorry for what happened to your family. Please don't chastise me for apologizing once more. I have to. Let me do that. Please!" he begged

"Conceded!" Cade nodded

"I've never been… graced by the gift of a family, unlike my brother. Unlike your dad and mom. He was always telling me to leave Shin-Ra and raise a family, and then he would tell me how wonderful it was to have you as a son. I had always thought that he was a bit exaggerating but since when I came to your rescue after you left Shin-Ra yourself, and after witnessing the man you turned out to be, I realized that if I ever had a son, I really would like him to be like you. Again, I might have committed something terrible by letting your parents die, but somehow fate still graced me with the gift of your forgiveness and your company. So, thank you Cade. You returned everything I gave you. Multiplied by hundred…"

Cade stood there speechless. He was averse to praises and staff but, faced with the fate of dying at the bottom of the sea, he took all of them. He felt glad that he would have left such an image of himself

"Thanks uncle Reeve" he replied, voice broken by the commotion "I… you would have been a great dad. To me, you surely have been the closets thing to a father. And I really needed… someone like you. You saved me and gave me even the closest thing to a family. I was not always the model son and I sure gave you headaches from time to time but your support was always unyielding. Again, thanks…" he concluded.

Thankfully, nobody could see him sitting there all busy wiping tears away from his eyes. Cade had known death early in his life and came to deal with it in several other occasions. Therefore, he had gladly accepted his fate, since it also meant sparing the life of several other innocent people. But every time his mind raced to the people he was about to leave on Gaia, a sadness enveloped him in a firm and unavoidable grasp

"Well, quick before this thing explodes" he urged "Anyone else?"

"Ah, damn you kid" Cid intervened "that's a very sly way of running away from your debts. And with the excuse that the world is about to crumble… pathetic" the grumpy mechanic smiled, not without being able to wash away the veil of tears covering his eyes

"Cid, you were the closest thing I had to an uncle. The bad uncle, though…"

Everyone laughed. Even Yuffie. It was the saddest laughter of her entire life

"Take care of yourself, Cade" Evan told him "We'll miss you"

"Take care of Sarah, Evan… whops" Cade realized his faux-pas too late

"Ah, who cares" Sarah replied "It was anybody's secret, anyhow…"

Next, it came the most painful of them all

"Yuffie!" Cade gulped. He felt weak as he was about to talk to a girl he had known and loved too late "I'm sorry. We won't be able to spend that week in Costa del Sol as we had planned…"

Yuffie, marshalling all the courage she could muster, stood up

"It's all right, Cade…" she faintly replied, tears running down her cheeks "I'm just… this is unfair! It's plainly unfair! Somebody like you should live for a hundred years, or more…" she shook her head

"I know… life is a bitch" Cade replied with a grin. A burst of static blurred the broadcast for a while "If that makes you feel better, I'm not dying in vain. Thanks to me lots of people will wake up tomorrow and their major concern will be providing food for their families and getting money to bet on the Chocobo races. I think this is quite an achievement…" a laughter cut his speech. He was not laughing at all. He was actually crying.

Yuffie felt his sorrow thorough the ether. She burst into tears

"Cade! I don't want you to die!" she shouted, face buried in her hands. Sarah stepped next to her, providing her some comfort

"Me neither, Yuffie!" Cade replied, his voice trembling "I would trade my place with anyone in this world. Believe me I really would like to be somewhere else. Anywhere but here… And the reason is simple. It's because I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you…"

"Please Cade!" Yuffie implored "Don't make it harder than it is!"

"I'm sorry Yuffie" he continued "But that's how things are. I'm about to die and I won't be able to live long enough to fulfil my dreams. But then, I think of all the people that I… that we are saving from a certain death. Damn it, we are saving an entire PLANET! Isn't that great?"

"Sort of…"

"Yuffie, I couldn't face myself if I had to live with the thought of being someone that someday, was able to make the world a better place but missed his chance. And it's not about how much I love you, or Cid, or Reeve or anyone else, for that matter… There are people who depend on us. We both knew that, way before this whole ordeal started. Some things are even bigger than love itself…"

An arrow pierced his heart. It was an arrow shot from afar. From the past.

'I think I've understood now…' he thought to himself

"Cade!" Yuffie brought him back to the present "Do you realize that my life will be a living hell without you?"

"Don't be like that" Cade shook his head "You are strong, though and smart, other than beautiful. You'll find someone better than me and you'll live the life of your dreams…"

"Nobody is better than you, and you know it" her words dodged her tears

"Yeah, you're right… then pick someone who will be the closest thing to me!"

Again, incredibly, everyone laughed. It was a bitter laughter, though. There was little room for joy and exuberance in a moment like that

"Say hello to Kayla for me…" she recommended

"I'll do"

"It's in the safety area" a technician discreetly announced

Ruding and Evan nodded

"Cade?" Yuffie asked again. But no answer came from the speaker

"He must have turned the speaker off" Evan told her, placing a hand on her shoulder "This is too much for him, too!"

"I see…" Yuffie nodded, taking a seat

The deck fell silent again. Seconds passed and a tremor caught the _Shera,_ making everyone run for cover. Sarah ran outside

"Hey it's not just the ship" she said "It's an earthquake"

"Look at that!" a technician pointed his finger outside the porthole. In the light of the early morning a second sun had appeared low on the horizon, raising in the cyan sky in a bright bowl of light

"Lost contact with the submarine" a technician said "It exploded eventually"

"Seismographs are off the charts!" another WRO officer chimed "Brace yourself!"

The quake came again, stronger this time. It nearly lifted the _Shera_ from the ground, but it passed away as soon as it came.

When jolts finally subsided, everything that was left from Brad Clawboune's scheme was a pillar of water and smoke on the horizon. It was humongous but it was already waning off

Reeve was awaken by an officer who urged him to focus on the seismic reports and the tsunami monitoring feeds

"So, the quake that was to happen according to Brad's plans amounted to just that…" Evan wondered

"We confirm that the earthquake has subsided. There might be aftershocks but they will be negligible. As per the tsunami warning, there might be waves up to one metre in some areas" Reeve told them

"One metre? Ha!" Cid laughed "Take this bad guy! Life goes on!"

"Of course it does" Evan shook his head "And we know who to thank…"

In a corner, Yuffie stood there, sitting. She was petrified from head to toe, unable to feel or express anything.


	23. EPILOGUE

7.

Yuffie slowly regained consciousness.

She felt a pat on her shoulder which grew more relentless as she refused to wake up. Tasting the concrete in her mouth, she finally opened her eyes, realising she was laying prone on the ground. There were no more sounds of gunfire in the background, only people shouting orders and the noise of helicopters flying above

"There it is, she woke up!" a voice spoke "Tell the lieutenant we found her"

Yuffie rolled on her back. Feeling an eerie sensation over her face, she passed a hand on her cheeks and forehead, only to irk as the palm of her hand turned out

"Don't touch your face m'am!" the same voice that had woken her up urged her "You are full of scratches on your face. You don't want to put even more dirt on your wounds…"

Scratches? How did she got them? It all felt so confused and hectic…

Yuffie turned towards the medic who was tending to her

"What happened?" she asked him

"You were caught in the blast of the explosion…"

"Which explosion?"

"One of our gunship launched a missile to destroy a jamming facility" the medic explained "We thought nobody was near it…"

Apparently, judging by the number of soldiers roaming around the piers, the WRO had finally landed in the facility. Did it mean that the mission was over? Perhaps accomplished?

She quickly got up, startling the corpsman, who was deep into dressing her wounds. She felt a bit dizzy as she jumped on her feet all of a sudden

"Hey calm down!" the medic protested. Yuffie did not care about him. She took a look at the moor where the _Dragonette_ stood the last time she saw it.

Now the vessel was not there anymore

"Where is the submarine?" she frantically asked, towering the medic who was still knelt on the ground "Where is it?" she almost begged to know

The soldier was about to voice his obliviousness, but a call came from behind her shoulder

"Yuffie!"

Yuffie turned and saw Lieutenant Sarah Farron running towards her

"Yuffie!" the lieutenant walked the last bit up to her "Thank God you are here. I was looking for you everywhere!"

"Sarah! What happened?" Yuffie frantically asked

"What is the last thing you remember?"

"I was at the dock, right there" she explained "We were… ambushed by Brad and his gang…" she faltered, as she felt the urge of sitting down again. She felt like all her stamina had left her all of a sudden "The submarine has disappeared again…!"

"Can somebody give me a stretcher please?"

"A stretcher?" Yuffie replied, puzzled. Meanwhile two corpsmen were already rushing to her spot with a orange "I don't need no goddamn stretcher!"

"Whatever" Sarah shrugged "I'll have you taken on the _Shera_ right now, though. Get yourself checked a bit, will you? Do you manage to walk?"

"What? The _Shera_ is here?" Yuffie asked

"Of course" Sarah nodded "It landed right after the main contingent had seized the entire facility"

"I can walk" she assured her "Where is Cade?" she suddenly asked

"We are looking for him" Sarah replied "We honestly thought you could tell us where he is. Wasn't he with you?"

Yuffie stopped on her tracks upon a path carved by the explosion of the missile against the building which hosted the microwave jamming device. Around them soldiers were corralling prisoners and evaluating damages to the facility.

Yuffie heart momentarily stopped beating as she recalled the events leading up to that moment: they were making their way towards the piers when none others than Brad Clawbourne had appeared. He was just about to kill Yuffie on the spot when the missile had struck, saving them from a point blank execution.

But apparently Cade was nowhere to be seen. It was not like him to hide out in such a circumstance. And the submarine had definitely set sail, maybe in the aftermath of the chaos brought by the explosion and the landing of the WRO forces.

Things were not looking good

"Let's get in the _Shera_ " Yuffie suddenly burst "We'll look for him later"

She took point and ran towards the opening amidst the warehouses, a space large enough to allow the airship to fit in. She ran to the back of the hull, finding the SISF team loitering at the base of the ramp

"Hey, look who's there!" Perkins greeted her

"Jeez Yuffie" Elena marvelled at her face "Did you shave your face with barbed wire?"

"Has anyone seen Cade?" Yuffie frantically asked, panting

"Cade?" Kewell frowned "He was with you last time we saw him…"

"Yuffie!" a voice called her from inside the ship. It was Evan

"Evan!" Yuffie shouted, hopping towards him "Cade is… nowhere to be found!"

"That guy surely can't have just disappeared into thin air…" Perkins wondered

"Yuffie, we thought you know where he was… we lost contact with him the moment the missile struck. We didn't know you were close to the jamming device!"

"What about his beacon?" Yuffie enquired. Her heart was beating faster than ever. Cade had to be somewhere. And possibly safe and sound

"We are trying to locate him as we speak" Evan made a gesture inviting all the special forces team inside the hull "Him and the submarine?"

"What about it?" Sarah enquired "What are we going to do now that we couldn't prevent the submarine from setting off?"

"We have sent a naval squadron to chase and stick to its tail…" Evan explained as they made their way to the main deck "Even if we fire on it, the Mako bomb would explode and catch our ship in the explosion"

"And the detonation would still be dangerous as the submarine is still into the hazard area…" Ruding met the party as they set foot on the main deck "Glad to see you safe, Yuffie. We lost you for a second…"

"But there is no sight of Cade…" she helplessly replied

"Don't worry" Ruding reassured her "If he's out there, we'll find him"

"Sir, Edge is online" a servant had rushed to Evan, who nodded

"We are expecting to report to Reeve" he announced, as a giant screen appeared in the middle of the deck. Reeve appeared on screen

" _Shera_! Do you copy us?" Reeve asked

"Loud and clear" Evan replied "We are ready to report!"

"Come in, then!"

"We were unable to prevent the submarine from sailing away" Evan bowed his head. Behind Reeve, a murmur erupted

"The submarine has just entered the hazard area" Evan continued "That means that if the explosion takes place right now, we will have to face the consequences of a massive seaquake"

Reeve, at the other end of the wire, paused

"Did we suffer any casualties?"

"No, Sir" Evan replied "No casualties on our side…"

"Although…" Yuffie offered, shutting herself up quite instantly

"Although what?" Reeve amicably enquired

"Cade is missing" Evan said

"What does it mean?" Reeve asked

"In the aftermath of the missile strike and the mass landing of WRO forces, we lost contact with Yuffie and Cade. Yuffie has been retrieved, as you can see…"

"…But there is still no sight of Cade" Yuffie finished for him

Reeve stood silent for a while. He turned to Zansteid

"Colonel, the situation is critical" he told him "Please notify all units stationing on the Oceanic Rim area to evacuate all the people from the coastline as much as inland as they can"

"What will you tell them? If a mass evacuation is ordered, there will be mass panic everywhere" Evan asked

"We are prepared to deal with it, don't be worried…"

"So it is over?" Yuffie wondered

"I'm afraid there is nothing more we can do" Reeve shook his head "We have missed the chance to strike at the submarine while it was still at anchor, but that would have meant killing the entire SISF team along… and up to that moment the situation looked like it was still manageable"

"But somehow, Brad managed to sneak the vessel under our eyes"

"So we give up, right?" Yuffie feistily replied "Everything we have done, everything we fought for… it was all for nothing. Now we simply stand here and watch the world crumble. Isn't it?"

A spooky silence fell on the deck of the airship. Yuffie couldn't believe that they had all reached the end of the road. It couldn't be. Not after what everyone had been through. That was simply unfair. Millions of people dying, cities and towns razed to the ground…

And Cade was nowhere to be found, either.

"Yuffie" Reeve spoke "I'm sorry. All we can do is try to contain the damage…

This was quite the opposite she had envisioned. There was hardly a future from now on. And then the irony: she had fought enemies thousands and thousands of times more powerful than a bunch of depressed, delusional terrorist, yet she couldn't keep up with the most human adversaries she had encountered so far

"Maybe we can override the submarine mainframe and divert it to a safer spot…" Ruding was proposing to one of his aide

"Forget it" his subordinate swiftly replied "They have busted the mainframe through to through…"

Maybe it was better for the world to end. At least , for the world as she used to know it. She was a failure. There was no chances her actions could have left a positive mark. There was simply no place in the world for her. Nor for her dreams, nor for her aspirations.

She walked and took a seat. She felt like she really needed to shout and cry. How would have Cade reacted to the perspective that the world was about to end? Maybe he would have welcomed that with a smile, knowing that, after all, he was about to reunite with the countless people he had lost during his life

'Cade' she thought to herself 'Why have you disappeared right when I needed you the most?'

"What's with the nuclear stockpile?" Evan asked a subordinate

"We are almost done with it" the WRO officer replied "Most of the ordnance has been disposed and taken care of…"

"Good" Evan nodded "Get ready to evacuate all the WRO personnel. The bomb might explode any minute now…"

"Sir, incoming transmission!" a technician suddenly announced

"Well, what's with all the excitement? Just pass it on the secondary channel…"

"Sir, the transmission…" the WRO officer explained

"The transmission, what?" Evan spurred him, translating next to his station

"Sir, it's coming from the _Dragonette_!"

Even Reeve jumped on his seat, thousands of kilometres away, picking up that announcement. Yuffie sprung up too

"Sir" another technician echoed "We have located Tuesti's beacon"

"What?" Yuffie shouted "Cade! Where is he?"

"Too much stuff all at once…" Sarah shook her head as the sudden turn of the events acted like a catalyst, hyping up the morale of the whole crew of the _Shera_

"The hell is happening here?" a grumpy voice thundered over the voices of the crew shuffling throughout the main deck "Are they giving away free beer to celebrate the demise of Gaia? That's the only reason I could figure such a brawl…"

"We found him!" Yuffie cheered, running towards Cid

"Found who?" Cid asked

"Cade! Who else?"

"What? Did he even disappeared?" Cid scoffed

"Ah, fuck you Cid" Yuffie punched him on the torso, with no tangible effects on his side "They could take the ground off your feet in one fell swoop and you would only feel a draft at your arse…"

Cid shook his head, drawn to the workstation were the technician who was tracking Cade's beacon was sitting at

"So" Evan pressed him "Where is he? Ruding, go manage the incoming communication"

Ruding nodded, flying to the console next to the one Evan was staring at

"Well, the signal comes from…" the WRO officer explained, before being struck with disbelief "It can't be…"

The mark corresponding to Cade's position was right were the _Dragonette_ was supposed to be

"Cade is on the submarine…" Yuffie realized, eyes bulged

"What?" Reeve shouted from afar

"Sir, we are ready to copy the transmission"

Yuffie felt hope punching through the lumps of sorrow in her sound

"That can't be…"

"It's Cade, everything can be when he is around" Evan smiled

"Wait, wait" Sarah claimed their attention "what if somebody accidentally brought his beacon onboard? And what guarantees do we have that he is still alive…"

"Lieutenant Farron" a voice went off the loudspeakers in the deck "I am sorry to hear you still doubt my skills…"

It was Cade.

8.

Owing to his outstanding sight, Cade had caught wind of the incoming missile just in time to brace himself. That allowed him to drop on the ground and better withstand the effects of the explosion.

While the harbours were swept away by the shockwave, he had stuck to Brad and his posse, who were making a run for the submarine. The vessel had been promptly started up, its engines now running at full power.

Surprisingly, Brad was focused on reaching the submarine and did not realize that someone was still after him. Battered by the explosion and trying to ignore the loss of equilibrium that came with every step forward he made, Cade was running towards the pier where the _Dragonette_ was moored, gunning down and taking care of any obstacle who stood in his way.

Brad leapt down on the submarine's bridge, reaching for the main hatch. For some inexplicable twist of fate, the auxiliary hatch was still open and seemingly unguarded.

Gunship had appeared in the sky above, strafing huddles of enemies with their machineguns in an effort to help soften resistance before the WRO forces landed. While Cade reached for the passage, head had appeared inside the hatch. Without second thoughts, Cade shot him point blank and the corpse of the unaware sailor fell down the staircase.

Cade dived into the submarine's interiors, closing the hatch behind him. He leapt down the ladder and without even thinking, he emptied his weapon gunning down the party of soldiers he met upon landing down below.

Cade had guessed that he could not expect any of them to cooperate. It was better to wipe that scum from the face of Gaia and prevent Brad from achieving his goal. He would have settled scores with his conscience once back on the land, when it would have been all over.

When he would have been finally able to see Yuffie again.

Spurred by that thought, he made his way to the commanding room while the roar of the engines echoed throughout the hull. The crew was apparently kept at a bare minimum, that being a suicide mission, and he met no further resistance.

Once he found himself in front of the door separating him from the command room, he checked and reloaded his weapon, draw a breath and readied a grenade.

He knocked on the door

"What's up with them guys now?" he heard a voice asking

"We have a problem with one of the engines" Cade replied "I think it's about to explode"

"Explode?" the man asked incredulously. Cade could hear steps coming towards him. The man slammed the door open.

He did not even had time to utter a syllable: Cade's rifle shouted, thrusting him back at the centre of the command room. He hurled the grenade in front of him taking shelter behind the door.

The grenade went off, blinding and stunning everyone inside the compartment. Cade burst in and mowed everyone down. With the back of the eye he could see someone making a run for a passage opposite his position and closing the door behind him.

The whole action had lasted less than five minutes. Cade, still panting, contemplated the gory scenery of bodies strewn across the floor and blood on the panels. It looked like a slaughterhouse.

He checked every corpse, hoping to find Brad among them. Maybe still alive. Just to give him a taste of his own medicine.

Unfortunately Brad was not there. And apparently, no one was alive enough to ask.

He sprinted towards the stern of the vessel. If he remembered correctly, the compartments ahead of him ultimately hosted the small nuclear reactor powering the submarine. The Mako was probably stored there as well.

The door that led into the nuclear reactor room was open. Cade carefully trespassed the threshold, finding himself immersed in a bluish and greenish light. The nuclear core was slotted into a wall at the end of the room opposite the entrance. At its feet stood a black box rife with caution tags emanating a sinister green light.

And next to it stood Brad

"Well" the man said "If this isn't an unexpected visit. Cade nice to see you…"

As a reply, Cade aimed his gun and fired. A bullet hit Brad in his leg. He collapsed with a groan

"Civilized people usually say 'hi'" Brad teased him, holding tightly to his wounded leg "but who am I to judge the customs of the North" he laughed

"If you hope you are going to get killed wit a snap, forget it" Cade bitterly replied "You are going to pay for this, Brad. All of it and tenfold!"

"Cade!" Brad laughed hysterically "You can do me whatever you want. Like I care about a thing…" he patted the black box "This jewel will change the world. For the worst I hope. Too bad you are stuck here, it would have been pretty interesting to see how things would have turned out on the surface…"

"What makes you think that it will eventually go off?" Cade retorted

"Come on. Can't you see all this red signs on the panel?" Brad pointed at a console whose display was all red "The core of the nuclear reactor is about to give in. The nuclear fuel will eventually spill and react with the Mako. It's not me, it's physics…" Brad cackled, but his laughter was cut short by another bullet on his other leg

"Oh, Cade" Brad marvelled "I didn't expect you to be such a sadist. Guess I had the wrong idea about you all along… I bet you were excited watching Kayla slowly die in your arms"

Cade froze upon these words. He was really tempted to kill Brad right there on the spot. But it would have been too easy

"Cade, I have an idea" Brad smiled "Why don't you join me? You know, I've carefully thought upon the matter and I've realized that we are identical as two drops of water: we both lost something we loved and we had to fend off the world while we finally reached our private heavens… Does it sound familiar to you? Join me and let's put our differences aside. It will be fun. I promise it…" he said, followed by an hysterical laughter.

Cade had enough of that. Even on the verge of death, Brad's hysterical malignancy was starting to have a negative effect on himself. He fired a volley right at his chest. Brad jolted as bullets lodged in his stomach. Blood spurted from his mouth

"Ah, fuck" he protested "that's a mess…"

"That was for Yuffie, and thank whoever you like that she's still alive and better than me"

Cade made a step forward

"And the next one is for someone you'll meet soon" he continued "Any wish before dying in a way that, still, I consider too dignified for a maniac piece of shit like you?"

"Ah, well if you insist…" he told Cade "Then you don't mind if I fuck Kayla in the Lifestream…"

Cade fired a single shot in the middle of the forehead. Brain matter and blood were splattered on the wall behind him.

That was the end of Brad Clawbourne

"Creepy to the very end!" Cade exclaimed, contemplating the liberating way of a lifeless Brad strewn against the nuclear reactor "You know, we might be two drops of water, Brad. I'll give you that. But unlike you I ended up in a pool of water instead of a pool of shit" he finally remarked.

Now what? Brad's plan was still rolling, despite his demise. The air in the reactor compartment felt hot and heavy, almost poisonous. Cade figured that it wasn't a sound idea to remain in that room for long.

He dashed back to the deck, leaving Brad's corpse behind him. As soon as he found himself in front of what he thought was the radio console, he started tweaking the knobs and entering codes, hoping to dial up the _Shera_ somehow.

Luckily enough, after a couple of tries, he managed in his intent.

"How did you end up in the submarine?" Evan asked, still coming to terms with the pleasant discovery

"It's a long story…" Cade cut short

"Cade! Are you all right?" Yuffie asked, apprehension in her voice

"I'm all right Yuffie" Cade replied "Sorry if I left you behind. There were some stuffs to take care of, you know…"

"Cade, what's the status of the submarine?" Ruding asked "Reeve is here with us, at least virtually"

"Oh, really?" Cade said "Marvels of the technology… well, the submarine is devoid of any human presence I think. Except for me of course…"

"You mean the crew…" Reeve intervened

"They are all dead. Brad too" Cade told him "Sorry uncle. If you wished to organize a trial, I think there will be no defendants at the bar"

"That's not a concern" Reeve smiled "We have to take care of the submarine and its dangerous load. Public relations will have to wait for now"

"Cade, did you find the Mako?" Evan asked

"It's right next to the reactor" Cade explained "And that's were the bad news begin: apparently the reactor is in shambles. They planned to use a nuclear fuel leak as a primer"

"Can you do something from there?" Yuffie asked

"There's little I can do" Cade pondered "Apart from steering this thing away from the place it was supposed to blast off"

"We are plotting an area where the detonation will yield the least damage" Reeve announced "It will be uploaded to the _Shera_ in no time"

"Besides" Cade noticed "I've never sailed a submarine like this before. I could use some help…"

"Don't worry" Ruding announced "We have the instruction manual for that submarine and possibly the entire catalogue of the WRO fleet at hand. As soon as we have the new course…"

"Sir!" a technician announced "We have just received the set of coordinates"

"Wonderful!" Ruding exclaimed "Chipperfield, have the manual for the commandeering of a Seagull-class light submarine ready…"

Yuffie witnessed that exchange without speaking a word

'Please, Cade, for the sake of both of us and everyone in this world' she thought 'take that thing away from there! And make it back in one piece!'

Ruding carefully guided Cade in the procedure to set the submarine autopilot on the course to the coordinates the _Shera_ had just received. The vessel glided underwater as it steered towards the designated safety area

"Submarine changing course" somebody announced, much to the delight of everyone involved. Yuffie was overwhelmed by excitement and hope. The sudden and welcomed twist in the events was something only Cade could have been capable of

"Well, now the autopilot is set" Cade announced "I think that the only thing to do is getting out of here…"

"The Dragonette is supposed to have a couple of escape pods astern. Go check them out. We'll tell you how to operate them if needed…"

"Sure thing. I'm on…" Cade was about to talk but a sudden shock interrupted him. The whole hull of the submarine trembled and screeched as the deck plunged into a temporary darkness. Half of the illumination came back almost instantly, along with a plethora of warnings. Popping up in the panels not damaged by the gunfight earlier on. The commotion was felt back in the _Shera_ too, as a burst of static momentarily cut the communications between Cade and the airship

"What's happening now?" Evan asked, fearing the worst "Cade, are you still with us?"

"..I am…" his voice emerged back from the statics as the broadcast cleared up

"Sir, the submarine is going down" an officer announced "It's on collision course with the bottom of the ocean!"

"Cade, what the hell is going on there?" Yuffie shouted

"I don't know" Cade replied "There are a lot of warnings going off al at once…"

"The damage control panel!" Ruding urged him "Look at the damage control terminal, it should tell you what's happening…"

Cade rushed to a terminal while thrusting his feet on the floor to negotiate the sudden listing of the submarine

"Damage control terminal, damage control… here it is…" he started reading the feed being scrolled down on the screen "Main generators offline, skeleton mode on… The hell is a skeleton mode?" he shouted

"Cade!" Evan shouted "Pull the bar towards you! The submarine is going to plunge at the bottom of the sea!"

. He rushed to the seat in front of a control stick and pulled them with all the strength he could apply. At last the submarine seemed to respond to his action and it levelled back again

"Damn it, that was close…" Evan sighed

"I've got bad news, everyone" Ruding meekly announced

"What?" Yuffie asked "What is it now?"

"The submarine reactor is failing" Ruding explained "All the main systems are being disconnected but Brad and his gang must have tampered with the submarine's mainframe…"

"What do you mean?" Yuffie pressed on

"The mainframe is making only the vital system run. It has disconnected everything but the engines and the controls…"

"Wait!" Evan intervened "That doesn't mean that…"

Silence engulfed the deck of the airship once again. Yuffie again stood petrified. She feared what was coming up, although she had already, realized that good news were over.

Cade was doomed.

With no energy powering the escape pods, there was no way he could have escaped the submarine. Maybe he could have made his way out from it and swam to the surface, but that was a suicide attempt.

He was fated to be trapped into the vessel, which would have turned into his coffin any minute now

"Are you trying to tell me that without power the escape pods won't work?" Cade asked. His voice was genuinely concerned. Evan himself had never heard him so worried in all his life. And neither Reeve

"I'm afraid so" Ruding shook his head

"Maybe if I pop out of the hull and swim to the surface… there might be some breathers around…"

"The worst part is that the autopilot will be off too. We must have someone stuck to the controls otherwise the submarine will plunge again…"

Silence came from the submarine, interspersed with Cade's heavy breathing. He finally let a sigh out

"And that would make the whole story pointless" Cade pondered "Everything we have made and done. Everyone who has died…"

His voice has slightly cracked on the last word

"How long to the safety zone?" Ruding asked

"Less than three nautical miles…" an officer replied

In the control room of the _Dragonette_ , Cade reverted back to the pilot's seat

"Basically I'll make a last stand and keep this tin can on its tracks" he sighed "Everyone will be safe. Even if that means sinking with it…"

"No!" Yuffie stood up "That can't be! Cade, there must be a way to get out of that thing. Just think! Isn't you who always told me that there always a way out?" she cried, tears in their eyes

"Yuffie" Cade replied "I'm afraid this time there isn't"

Only the Gods knew what was crossing Reeve's mind right now. The man he had virtually raised and protected as if he was his son was about to die. The screen definition wasn't high enough to tell his emotion by staring at him.

Likewise, none on the deck was considering the fact that millions of people were out of danger as the submarine covered the remaining distance separating it from the safety zone. Nobody was thinking about the fact that they were about to accomplish their mission. With minimum casualties, on top of that. Not when that single casualty was someone like Cade.

Everyone was thinking about the loss that they were about to experience.

They were about to lose a friend

"Come on kid" Cid begged, eyes wide open "You can't die here… You owe me several rounds at the Headquarters' Bar"

"Damn it Cade!" Evan shook his head "I've never had a reason to hate you. And honestly, if you want to give up and sacrifice yourself for the sake of everyone of us… I won't stand in your way. I'm not going to hate you for that. Still…"

A relative. A nephew. A son, virtually

"Cade!" Reeve told him, with a seemingly otherworldly composure "Before you go, do you happen to have a minute for your uncle?"

"I surely do have, Reeve. I think I've got time for everyone" Cade calmly and joyfully replied, nowhere like a man who was about to die "Come on, speak first. I've never been able to properly start a conversation, you know"

"Well, this will probably enrage you but let me tell you I'm sorry for what happened to your family. Please don't chastise me for apologizing once more. I have to. Let me do that. Please!" he begged

"Conceded!" Cade nodded

"I've never been… graced by the gift of a family, unlike my brother. Unlike your dad and mom. He was always telling me to leave Shin-Ra and raise a family, and then he would tell me how wonderful it was to have you as a son. I had always thought that he was a bit exaggerating but since when I came to your rescue after you left Shin-Ra yourself, and after witnessing the man you turned out to be, I realized that if I ever had a son, I really would like him to be like you. Again, I might have committed something terrible by letting your parents die, but somehow fate still graced me with the gift of your forgiveness and your company. So, thank you Cade. You returned everything I gave you. Multiplied by hundred…"

Cade stood there speechless. He was averse to praises and staff but, faced with the fate of dying at the bottom of the sea, he took all of them. He felt glad that he would have left such an image of himself

"Thanks uncle Reeve" he replied, voice broken by the commotion "I… you would have been a great dad. To me, you surely have been the closets thing to a father. And I really needed… someone like you. You saved me and gave me even the closest thing to a family. I was not always the model son and I sure gave you headaches from time to time but your support was always unyielding. Again, thanks…" he concluded.

Thankfully, nobody could see him sitting there all busy wiping tears away from his eyes. Cade had known death early in his life and came to deal with it in several other occasions. Therefore, he had gladly accepted his fate, since it also meant sparing the life of several other innocent people. But every time his mind raced to the people he was about to leave on Gaia, a sadness enveloped him in a firm and unavoidable grasp

"Well, quick before this thing explodes" he urged "Anyone else?"

"Ah, damn you kid" Cid intervened "that's a very sly way of running away from your debts. And with the excuse that the world is about to crumble… pathetic" the grumpy mechanic smiled, not without being able to wash away the veil of tears covering his eyes

"Cid, you were the closest thing I had to an uncle. The bad uncle, though…"

Everyone laughed. Even Yuffie. It was the saddest laughter of her entire life

"Take care of yourself, Cade" Evan told him "We'll miss you"

"Take care of Sarah, Evan… whops" Cade realized his faux-pas too late

"Ah, who cares" Sarah replied "It was anybody's secret, anyhow…"

Next, it came the most painful of them all

"Yuffie!" Cade gulped. He felt weak as he was about to talk to a girl he had known and loved too late "I'm sorry. We won't be able to spend that week in Costa del Sol as we had planned…"

Yuffie, marshalling all the courage she could muster, stood up

"It's all right, Cade…" she faintly replied, tears running down her cheeks "I'm just… this is unfair! It's plainly unfair! Somebody like you should live for a hundred years, or more…" she shook her head

"I know… life is a bitch" Cade replied with a grin. A burst of static blurred the broadcast for a while "If that makes you feel better, I'm not dying in vain. Thanks to me lots of people will wake up tomorrow and their major concern will be providing food for their families and getting money to bet on the Chocobo races. I think this is quite an achievement…" a laughter cut his speech. He was not laughing at all. He was actually crying.

Yuffie felt his sorrow thorough the ether. She burst into tears

"Cade! I don't want you to die!" she shouted, face buried in her hands. Sarah stepped next to her, providing her some comfort

"Me neither, Yuffie!" Cade replied, his voice trembling "I would trade my place with anyone in this world. Believe me I really would like to be somewhere else. Anywhere but here… And the reason is simple. It's because I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you…"

"Please Cade!" Yuffie implored "Don't make it harder than it is!"

"I'm sorry Yuffie" he continued "But that's how things are. I'm about to die and I won't be able to live long enough to fulfil my dreams. But then, I think of all the people that I… that we are saving from a certain death. Damn it, we are saving an entire PLANET! Isn't that great?"

"Sort of…"

"Yuffie, I couldn't face myself if I had to live with the thought of being someone that someday, was able to make the world a better place but missed his chance. And it's not about how much I love you, or Cid, or Reeve or anyone else, for that matter… There are people who depend on us. We both knew that, way before this whole ordeal started. Some things are even bigger than love itself…"

An arrow pierced his heart. It was an arrow shot from afar. From the past.

'I think I've understood now…' he thought to himself

"Cade!" Yuffie brought him back to the present "Do you realize that my life will be a living hell without you?"

"Don't be like that" Cade shook his head "You are strong, though and smart, other than beautiful. You'll find someone better than me and you'll live the life of your dreams…"

"Nobody is better than you, and you know it" her words dodged her tears

"Yeah, you're right… then pick someone who will be the closest thing to me!"

Again, incredibly, everyone laughed. It was a bitter laughter, though. There was little room for joy and exuberance in a moment like that

"Say hello to Kayla for me…" she recommended

"I'll do"

"It's in the safety area" a technician discreetly announced

Ruding and Evan nodded

"Cade?" Yuffie asked again. But no answer came from the speaker

"He must have turned the speaker off" Evan told her, placing a hand on her shoulder "This is too much for him, too!"

"I see…" Yuffie nodded, taking a seat

The deck fell silent again. Seconds passed and a tremor caught the _Shera,_ making everyone run for cover. Sarah ran outside

"Hey it's not just the ship" she said "It's an earthquake"

"Look at that!" a technician pointed his finger outside the porthole. In the light of the early morning a second sun had appeared low on the horizon, raising in the cyan sky in a bright bowl of light

"Lost contact with the submarine" a technician said "It exploded eventually"

"Seismographs are off the charts!" another WRO officer chimed "Brace yourself!"

The quake came again, stronger this time. It nearly lifted the _Shera_ from the ground, but it passed away as soon as it came.

When jolts finally subsided, everything that was left from Brad Clawboune's scheme was a pillar of water and smoke on the horizon. It was humongous but it was already waning off

Reeve was awaken by an officer who urged him to focus on the seismic reports and the tsunami monitoring feeds

"So, the quake that was to happen according to Brad's plans amounted to just that…" Evan wondered

"We confirm that the earthquake has subsided. There might be aftershocks but they will be negligible. As per the tsunami warning, there might be waves up to one metre in some areas" Reeve told them

"One metre? Ha!" Cid laughed "Take this bad guy! Life goes on!"

"Of course it does" Evan shook his head "And we know who to thank…"

In a corner, Yuffie stood there, sitting. She was petrified from head to toe, unable to feel or express anything.

EDGE

1.

"It was very kind of you to come"

"I might be a ruler of a country and Yuffie might be my only heiress" Godo Kissaragi told Reeve "But I'm first and foremost a father, and if things are the way you told me, then I think I should tell Yuffie that I'm ready to help her…"

The two men were standing side by side on the main landing pad of the WRO Headquarter in Edge. They were surrounded by personnel ready to welcome the _Shera_ back home

"Again, I'm sorry for your loss" Godo continued "I'm not oblivious to what losing a beloved one means. If there's anything I can do…"

Reeve bowed his head and raised his hand

"I'm alright. I won't be able to sleep well knowing that Cade won't be around like he used to be. But I'll have to carry on. I've been like a father for him and he was the closest thing to a son I had. But I'm also the head of the World Regenesis Organization. The world needs to be kept under surveillance. If we let our guard down, then Cade's sacrifice will be vain, eventually…"

"Sounds like he was truly a remarkable person" Godo wondered "I understand why my daughter fell for him…"

"And you daughter is truly a remarkable person as well" Reeve added "Again I'm personally in debt with you. We will be of assistance anytime you will require it"

"I'll take due notice of that" Godo nodded "Thank you"

The late afternoon breeze swept the landing surface. An officer approached Reeve

"Sir, the _Shera_ is about to land"

"Magnificent" Reeve replied "Thank you!"

The officer saluted and hopped away. Reeve and Godo Kissaragi raised their heads staring at the orangey sky, noticing a couple navigation lights in the distance

"There it is…" Godo whispered

Soon the airship became visible and bigger as it approached the landing site. The personnel was ordered to clear the pad as the _Shera_ made its final approach.

As the skids touched the ground and the engines came to a halt, WRO officers swarmed the site, performing their assigned procedures. The rear ramp was lowered and finally, one by one, the members of the Special Intervention Service Force walked up to Reeve.

Lieutenant Farron was leading the row of special operatives who finally stood to attention. They all saluted, before being ordered to stand at ease. Yuffie stood at the very back, partially concealed by the array of the operatives before her. It was hard to tell that they had come back from a highly successful mission. Even the special forces members that had only been slightly touched by Cade's presence were still affected by his departure. Yuffie, well, looked like a zombie

"Sir" Sarah Farron finally spoke "Special Intervention Service Force leader, lieutenant Farron ready to report, Sir"

"We don't need a report. Not right now, lieutenant" Reeve replied. Sarah and the others made a surprised look

"Take your men and proceed to your quarters" Reeve instructed "Take a few days of rest and then we will talk. All clear?"

"Clear, Sir" Sarah replied. The SISF squad then proceeded out of the landing site

"Yuffie!" Reeve called her out as she spotted the ninja, who walked up to them.

The Wutaian princess stood before Reeve looking him right into the eyes. Then a tear made its way on her cheek as she sprung forward throwing her arms around him.

Reeve let Yuffie sob against his chest for a while, under the watch of Godo. When Yuffie finally separated, she wiped the tears away from her face and walked up to her father

"Yuffie!" Godo murmured "How are you?"

Yuffie threw aside the grudge she had held towards her father all this time. Apparently Godo had done the same. She hugged him, crying

"Dad…" she uttered "I want to go home"

"I know" he nodded, caressing her head "Mr. Tuesti here, told me everything. I'm here for you, Yuffie. Don't forget it!"

"I know" Yuffie replied "Thank you!"

"The _Shera_ will be ready to take off again in half an hour" Reeve explained "I'm sure Cid will be happy to give the both of you a ride back home"

"I accept your offer" Godo nodded "We'll have some time to talk together then, if you like of course" he added, looking at Yuffie

"I'll give a try"

"Go get some rest downstairs with the others, Yuffie" Reeve said "I'll cal the both of you when we will be ready to set to Wutai"

"Reeve!" Yuffie told him "I want to be there. If his body will be found…"

"I'll make sure you will be informed as soon as we will find something… now go get some rest. You need it!"

"He saved my life…" Yuffie whispered "He saved all of us…!"

"I know" Reeve nodded "He's happy knowing that he did so. I can feel it…"

Reeve stared back at the sky while Godo took Yuffie under her arms leading her downstairs.

GOLDEN SAUCER REGION (INLET)

1.

"Hey ma', look at that!"

The woman raised her head, momentarily disregarding her current chore. Her child had the nasty habit of picking up almost everything from the ground, and she did not want to have to tend to another cut or another bite this time.

She got up and followed her son's voice to the beach. Upon seeing the target of his attention, she froze.

Her child was poking at a cylindrical object, the size of a grown cattle animal all painted in yellow and black. At one end stood what looked like a hatch

"Holy shit!" the mother exclaimed, disregarding the fact that she might have just taught her son a bad word "Don't touch it! This is something dangerous!"

"But mom…" the kid protested, as he was caught and ferried away by that object.

The woman was uncomfortable at the thought of having such a sinister artefact on the shore of his estate. She ran uphill, her kid firmly grasping her hand and pouring a river of questions about the nature of that object. Questions to which of course his mother could not give an answer.

Once reached their house proper, the woman stumbled upon her husband, who was tending to a piece of terrain. The turmoil made him turn

"Honey, what's happening?" he asked "I thought you were busy down below…"

"Something came from the sea!" she explained in a hurry, urging her kid to rush inside the house and stand there for a while "Call the WRO post and tell them to send someone to get rid of that thing…"

"Something?" the husband frowned "Is it an animal, a bomb…"

"Just call the WRO!" the woman ordered him

"Jeez, all right!" the man dropped his tools and went for the telephone.

Half an hour later a small convoy of WRO trucks had arrived on the scene. The commander of the WRO squad was greeted by the woman

"Oh, thank the Maker you are here!" she shook his hand

"Calm down m'am!" the WRO officer calmed her down while his men were readying the instruments "What exactly are we dealing with? You haven't been very clear at the phone…"

"Something came from the sea!" the woman frantically explained as she led the squad down to the beach "It must be a device of some sort…"

"M'am, don't you listen to the newscast?" the WRO officer shook his head "Since the earthquake in the islands two days ago pretty much everything has washed ashore because of the tsunami. It is nothing to be so worried about…"

"Well you would be worried too if your son pokes everything everywhere" she countered "This is my family and my household!"

A subordinate chuckled. The WRO officer silently reprimanded him with a piercing gaze

"Honey, dear!" the woman told her husband upon meeting him halfway to the beach "Why don't you get these gentlemen something to drink while we sort things out?"

The man shrugged and made his way back to the house

"So" the woman said, setting her feet on the beach, metres away form the cylinder "There it is, as you can see…"

Terror gripped her. Her and the whole WRO team.

The cylinder hadn't changed much since she had saw it last time. The only difference was that the hatch was open.

And a couple of feet away from it, sprawled on the pebbles stood the content of the object. Seemingly alive, moreover

The WRO officer dodged the woman, who made a ran back upwards. A soldier rushed for his sidearm. His superior rushed for his radio, instead

"Somebody send me an ambulance and a medical team" he radioed "And fast!"

WUTAI

1.

The week that had just gone by had been one of the worst of Yuffie's entire life.

She had hardly left the Royal Pagoda in Wutai, longing for the company that his father and her beloved retinue was eager to provide. From time to time she was considering giving up the battle against the pain and sorrow she felt, and peacefully slid into the arms of depression. But every time she tried, she could swore that some kind of unseen force quickly dragged her back to the surface of the sea of grief she was swimming into and forced her to catch a good mouthful of air, spurring her to fight her personal battle. In such instances, she was led to think that she might have lost a friend, but on the other hand she had found a guardian angel.

Nonetheless, things were still quite hard for her. She tried to grasp to every positive thing there was around her such as her friends and the prospect of her commitment to the political and social life of the country, which she was now starting to see under a different light.

And her father, too. Whatever had happened, it had helped to mend the broken ties between them. That made life in the Pagoda way easier, as it made easier thinking about the day she would have taken his place. And his company something to look for and lean on rather than something to avoid.

It was hard, of course. Her father was urging her to take her time, to do one step at a time. Nobody said it was easy. Not even Reeve, who called her from time to time, telling her that Cade's body was yet to be found and offering her the help of a professional. Yuffie had turned down that offer. Cade himself appeared in her dreams every now and then, leaving her incoherent messages or messages she could hardly crack, only to disappear right when she least expected it, making her wake up in the middle of the night and leaving her crying on the bed. She discarded those appearances as her mind simply playing tricks on her, nothing more.

She woke up.

It was morning this time. The nightmares had spared her sleep this time. It was time to get up once again and face the fact that no matter how, life went on.

It went on for Cid, who had been granted an extended leave back in his hometown. Surprisingly, his wife Shera had told her that Cid looked less grumpier than ever these days. Since it was Cid they were talking about, the thing sounded alarming, although Shera had reassured her that he had resumed to most of his awful habits back in no time. Most of them, she had remarked.

It went on for Evan and Sarah, who were back to work, having refused any kind of leave permit to assist in the relief operation in the aftermath of the whole affair. The mining facilities in Corel had taken a bad hit, so the town of Mideel and several other places scattered around the world.

It went on for Reeve as well, who struggled to keep an unyielding appearance, yet many wondered what crossed his mind. One of the traits in common between him and Cade was their reluctance to open up. Guess it runs in the family.

Everyone's life was going on. Her should have followed suit.

She got up from the bed and walked into the kitchen, in the wing of the Pagoda where Godo had _suggested_ her to stay, where they could enjoy a bit of privacy without forcibly secluding themselves from the outer world.

Godo in fact was sitting at the table contemplating a newspaper. As soon as he heard her daughter's footsteps, he stood up. Yuffie walked up to him, greeting him with a hug

"Yuffie…"

"Dad"

"How is it today?"

Yuffie sighed "As fine as it could be…"

"Guess we are making a progress here" he smiled. Yuffie smiled back, although the grin was somehow forced

"Have some breakfast" he invited her. One of Godo's chief concerns was that Yuffie would neglect her diet as a side effect of her lingering state of despair. Instead, Yuffie went through her morning supper without hesitation. She had never skipped a meal up to this day, save for the first couple of days

"What's up with you today?" she asked, staring at the centre of table

"Nothing really important" Godo said "You know, the reorganization of the Civic Guard is our first concern on the agenda, but it's not a homogeneous process…"

"So today you are slacking…" she suggested

"Not really, I mean… It's not a very polite way of saying that today there is nothing of capital importance to discuss"

"I see…" Yuffie smiled, making her father's eyes gleam

"It's good to see you smile Yuffie" he said

"I know" she nodded "I'll try to smile more often. If I have the chance to, of course…"

They stood in silence for a while. Yuffie shuffled cutlery and dishes away from the table, discarding them in the sink, resolving to clean them up as soon as possible. Godo had given the servitude the order (well, the request) not to interfere with her daughter's recovery while she stayed at The Royal Pagoda. Yuffie had countered his request by telling him that she could use having people around, provided they let her take care of herself.

Godo stood up

"Listen Yuffie" he said, making her forget about the dishes in the sink "you have hardly poked your nose outside the palace. Why don't you breathe some fresh air for a change?"

"Do you really think it would help?" Yuffie sighed

"You don't know unless you won't give a try" Godo explained "But surely a modification to your daily routine would be of great benefit"

Since the day Yuffie was back on her feet (mentally speaking) she had shadowed her father while he carried out his daily tasks of ruler of Wutai. She did that with such a commitment and at an alarmingly hectic beat that Godo had to force her to take some time off. Surely things were changed both inside her and between them

"Or, even more" Godo added "take your camping equipment and get your friends and stay out for a couple of nights. I remember how happy you were when we did that with your mom"

Yuffie let her arms down "Are you serious?" she marvelled "Do you trust me that much?"

"Yuffie, I'm your father" Godo replied, seemingly offended "And I'm not the father to a mentally unstable girl. I'm just a father who has to help a daughter overcome a loss…"

Yuffie leapt forward, throwing her arms around him

"I wouldn't do anything to her that could make things worse" he whispered

"Oh, dad…" she exclaimed, tears in the corner of her eyes.

She had set out that very afternoon. She would have reached even further south if Aizen hadn't arrived late at the point they had convened for the rendezvous. She had planned to venture beyond the Da Chao mountain, going through a road that was notorious for being infested by monsters. Yet Yuffie was eager to stretch out her muscles, so her two friends.

Unfortunately, they were behind schedule. They had just started climbing the foothills leading to the Da Chao Mountain that darkness came. And hunger too. They had set up a tent and they were about to have dinner

"What? Pork and beans?" Yuffie exclaimed "Since when Yuri manages to cook something requiring two ingredients? I mean, two ingredients?"

"We sent him to school while you were away" Aizen explained "It's still a long way to the top, though…"

"Hey, you two!" Yuri said "Quit complaining about my cooking abilities or you'll have soil for dinner"

They all laughed. Godo was right. Bad thoughts were far from being locked away but that outdoor adventure was soothing her soul. It was still a long way to the top but someone had to do the first step

"Hey, backseat cookers" Yuri howled "toss me another beer"

"It's the second in less than five minutes" Yuffie protested

"Well, I'm thirsty" Yuri shrugged

"You usually drink water when you're thirsty" Aizen pointed out

"Listen" Yuri sighed "just give me that goddamn beer…"

"Whoa" Yuffie exclaimed "Give him the beer or he'll kill us while sleep"

A can was hurled in the air, promptly caught by Yuri's hand

"Say, Yuffie" Aizen asked her "How are things going at the Pagoda these days?"

Yuffie halted sipping from her can of beer. She stared at a point between her feet

"Uhm, good I guess" she simply replied "I'm keeping myself busy…"

"Ah, ok" Aizen nodded "Good to hear that"

"Is there something wrong?" Yuffie asked

"No, no" Aizen shook his head "It's just that we were worried about you…"

"You didn't show up for quite a number of days" Yuri explained, abandoning his cooking spot for a while "We were simply worried that Godo was lying to us. He kept telling us that you were shaken and all…"

"But Yuri is a paranoid" Aizen intervened, trying to lighten up the mood of the speech "He always thinks that something worst is behind!"

Yuffie chuckled "You are very dear guys" she said "but I'm alright, more or less…"

A gust swept the opening where the camping site

"Damn it" Aizen looked up "We'd better hurry before temperatures drop all of a sudden"

"Don't worry guys" Yuri came up sporting the pan, ready to give away the food "The chow is on the way…"

They all got served, while another gust came by. This time fiercer and accompanied by a thundering noise

"Is that a storm?" Yuffie asked

"How can it be?" Aizen marvelled, as the noise grew closer and closer "The sky was crystal clear up to an hour ago…"

Then something flew over them, winds beating against the terrain, nearly scattering their camping equipment. Yuffie could tell the silhouette of an airship flying surprisingly at low altitude

"Damn airship pilots" Yuri swore as soon as the vessel was out of sight "Why don't you fly underground next time?"

Yuffie followed the airship as it glided towards the main town

"What's that airship doing there, anyhow?" Aizen asked

"Beats me" Aizen replied "Give me a hand, that thing made a mess here…"

Yuffie stood there instead, following the vessel till its lights merged with the ones of the city where it landed. An odd feeling grew inside her. Albeit she was ready to dismiss that sensation, due to the recent turmoil her soul had gone through, she could not shake away the impression that the airship was carrying something for her.

Maybe Reeve had come firsthand to inform her that Cade's body had been found and a memorial service was on schedule.

She closed her eyes, as she battled the pain coming from a wound yet to close

"Yuffie? Are you all right?" Aizen shook her

"Oh, I'm sorry" Yuffie replied "I… I just had a funny thought. Nothing really that matters"

"Care to share?" Yuri asked

"Right now I only care bout eating something" she exclaimed "have we cleared up the mess?"

"We did" Aizen told her "Thankfully most of the stuff was anchored and safe. Otherwise I'd have to get back in town to retrieve the tent"

They finally had dinner. Yuffie regained her composure and for a while she forgot about the whole airship affair.

Until her PHS started ringing

"What's it now?" Aizen frowned

The eerie feeling kicked in again. Yuffie rushed to the device

"Hello?"

"Yuffie, it's me" Godo said at the other hand of the wire

"Dad, what's happening?" she asked, her heart beating faster and louder

"Yuffie, I'm sorry to interrupt you but you should come back to the Pagoda…"

"What is it?"

"You should see it with your own eyes?"

"Dad, what was that airship about?" she pressed, almost begging for information

"I told you Yuffie" Godo continued "Come and see by yourself"

The communication dropped.

Her hands were shaking.

"Yuffie" Aizen tentatively asked "What was that?"

"Guys" she uttered "I have to go back"

"Why?"

Yuffie did not reply. She walked off the campsite.

After finally encountering sounder terrain, she started running.

"That means I'll take her share…" Yuri shrugged, preying on Yuffie's leftovers.

4.

Adrenaline had helped keep her pace steady until she finally reached the Royal Pagoda. To her shock and surprise, the airship that had just flew above her back in the foothills of the Da Chao mountain stood in the park just behind the royal premises, surrounded by a line of WRO soldiers.

Yuffie quickly gained entrance to the building and to her surprise, found Godo having a private conversation with none other than Reeve Tuesti

"Oh, good evening Yuffie" Reeve calmly greeted her, with the smile of an unemployed man who had just won the jackpot at a lottery. Strangely enough, that sunny disposition only made her more nervous

"Yuffie, Reeve wants to have a talk with you…" Godo explained her "He says that there's something delicate he should discuss with you"

"What is that?" Yuffie nervously asked "You found him? I mean, his body…"

"Well" Reeve scratched his head "We found him, yes. But not how we were expecting"

Yuffie felt dizzy. Combined with the effort of running all the way from the mountainside to Wutai, Reeve's cryptic statements turned her perception of reality into a tangled mass of contrasting feelings.

She came to think that it was all a nightmare. It must have been the beer, she thought. The alcohol had probably the side effect of waking up her demons while she closed her eyes. She promised to herself not to touch any more spirits from now on

"Yuffie" Godo got closer to her "Are you all right?"

"Maybe we should postpone the whole thing…" Reeve suggested

"I think so" Godo concurred "Only the Gods know how could she react upon seeing that…"

What were they talking about? There was just one way to know that.

'Heaven help me!' she thought to herself as she woke up from her frozen state and started making her way towards the garden where the airship was perched. If there was anything to see, it was inside there

"Yuffie" Godo shouted as Yuffie pushed him and Reeve aside "Please wait…"

But Yuffie was virtually running by know. Nobody stood in her way, as the retinue was probably still asleep, sent back to their beds by Godo. She slammed open the door that led to the garden, sweating buckets and barely managing to put one feet after the other.

She finally reached the airship. The side hatch was open. The line of soldiers guarding the ship looked menacing in their black combat suit, yet they didn't blink an eye as they witnessed Yuffie darting past them and making a way for the interiors of the airship.

Now that she was inside, where was she supposed to go? She quickly scanned the surroundings and the premises started looking way too familiar. In the name of the Gods, what was happening?

Guided by an unheard voice, she took a turn inside a compartment. She ran a few metres and her attention was caught by a solid, white light coming from an open door. She carefully stepped towards it, feeling the forces leaving her at every step she made towards the source of that light.

She finally had the chance to peek beyond that passage. It was not a matter of chance rather than courage. Although her movements inside the ships where swift and nimble, deep inside her she coveted the fear that something too overwhelming to bear was about to take place.

Without further due, she entered the room. It was a compartment converted to a medical station. Machineries, tables and clothing was ubiquitous and white. She felt like walking in a sea of snow, even the temperature was cooler than the outside. Most of the medical instruments were working. But where was the staff? And besides, could it be here that she would have found her answer?

A heavy plastic curtain separated the main compartment from a secluded alcove. She could see that there was something behind the curtain.

Disregarding any procedure in place, she pulled the curtain apart.

And everything fell apart. At least, it started to fall apart.

Her heart sank as she contemplated a bed where a figure was laid to rest. Pipes and wires emerged from the gauzes that wrapped him up

'Him?'

How could Yuffie be so sure?

Voices came from behind her. Yuffie did not notice them. Or chose to ignore them.

Instead, she stepped forward, her mind racing back at a time when she witnessed something strikingly similar

'It can't be…" she thought. Blood was rushing to her head as she was starting to lose sensibility in her limbs. As she approached she could finally tell the features of the man laying in front of her. Because she was sure it was a man.

Those black hairs.

Those green eyes.

Those thin scars where the forearms were exposed.

"No" Yuffie incoherently uttered "Please don't be…"

The man blinked his eyes. He was alive. He scanned the surroundings trying to tell who had just spoken.

Finally their eyes met. They both shed a tear upon recognizing each other.

Yuffie made one final step, coming right next to the bed. She knelt down. And then something terribly beautiful happened.

The man spoke.

Or to be precise, Cade spoke

"Yuffie…" he said, with the mightiest voice he could afford, his chest raising and sinking as he drew breath to cope with the tension of facing a girl he loved and who thought he was dead

"Cade… this is… a dream? You can't be…" Yuffie whispered, her face twisted by the painful process of pain, grief and sorrow being converted into something else

"…alive?" Cade terminated from her, tears falling down form the uncovered by the gauze "I… am, instead" he said, coughing and gritting his teeth because of the intense pain something so menial was causing him

"I…" Yuffie tried to talk but she was soon rendered helpless. She collapsed over Cade, crying like she had never done before in her entire life.

Cade gathered everything he could to lift his left arm and land his hand over Yuffie's head. He was crying too, but he wanted to let her know that he was there.

He was alive and he loved her.

Yuffie's weeps were so intense that Cid made no effort in pinpointing her location. Followed by Evan and Sarah, he discovered the ninja crying over Cade, who was shedding tears as well, caressing her head

"Damn it" Cid shook his head "let's go tell the doctor he's going to have another patient to look after…" and he walked away.

Evan and Sarah stood there instead

"She did not even realized she was on _Shera_ , didn't she?" Sarah asked

"Who cares" Evan shrugged "I'm just happy things turned out the way they did. Aren't you?"

"Me?" she smiled at him "Of course!"

WUTAI

(SOME TIME AFTER…)

1.

"Keep it up, you lazy bone!" Yuffie shouted from above

"Hey, give me a break!" Cade replied "Do you have to remind you what did the doctor tell you?"

"Yep!" Yuffie blinked "He told you to move your ass every now and the, otherwise you're going to lose that magnificent body of yours…"

"Oh, that made me blush!" Cade smiled, while climbing up trying to reach the rock where Yuffie was perched.

They were finally enjoying their first trek outdoor after the doctors had given Cade the green light. Two days in a row of food and water deprivation had taken a toll on his body and mind, but his proverbial fibre had allowed him to burn up the stages of recovery. The only concern was the therapy to get rid of the Mako in his bloodstream: it was a lengthy process akin to a chemotherapy, and the doctors had told him not to overdue.

But in that late afternoon of late summer, it would have been more unhealthy for someone to barricade inside a house rather than enjoying the landscape of Wutai. So they had both decided to set out and take a stroll throughout the rolling hills south of the main town.

"Would you mind lending me a hand? You dislodged all the rocks here!" Cade said

Yuffie rolled her eyes "Don't act like a deadweight though" she recommended, stretching out her arm "Give yourself a thrust, will you?"

Cade got a hold of her hand and helped himself on the ledge. When he finally came on top he crawled for a few metres and abandoned himself with his back on the ground, panting because of the effort. Yuffie rushed next to him

"Are you all right?" she asked, standing over him

Cade took a moment to gaze into her eyes. Then he took her face into his hands and pulled her towards him.

Yuffie initially reacted with surprise but then let it all go as she felt the warmth of his lips against hers. She closed her eyes reciprocating the affection now flowing between them.

Once they separated, she laid on the back as well holding his hand

"I think you are all right, aren't you?" she asked

"I am…" he nodded.

As they stared back into each other's eyes, Yuffie rushed back to the events that took place after that night.

After Yuffie had discovered that Cade was alive, she had collapsed over him, prompting the intervention of a doctor, much to Godo and Reeve's concern. Upon discovering that the shock of the finding had left no lasting consequences, her father had come up with an idea

"Maybe we can arrange for a cot to be placed right next to the bed" he suggested "provided there are no objections to that…"

"I don't see any" the doctor who had just checked on Yuffie shook his head

"You see, I don't want for her to wake up on her bed and have her wonder if it was all a dream or not" Godo explained "I want her to wake up and see that the truth is that Cade is alive and well. That is… well, let's just go with the alive"

"I appreciate your concern" the doctor replied, giving his avail to Godo's proposal. Reeve wholeheartedly agreed with him as well, of course.

With the cot deployed and Yuffie clad in a night attire brought from the pagoda, the ninja was left sleeping next to her loved one. As the doctor left the room, he did not notice that somehow Cade's hand had snuck up to reach for Yuffie's own.

Cade was better in a surprising short amount of time. He was finally able to properly tell Yuffie everything he felt, and Yuffie was able to do just the same.

Of course it was time for the litany of visits as well. Starting from Cid

"Well, kiddo" he said "what do expect me to say?"

"That you were crying like a baby when you realized I was dead?" Cade had suggested, making Yuffie giggle. The ninja was firmly stuck by his side

"Never in a million other lives, you ungrateful prick!" the mechanic grumped.

Evan and the SISF team had somehow made things easier for him: the whole team was brought before him to hear how he had managed to escape the submarine, despite the escape pods not being available

"When I was told that there was no way out, I simply stuck to a seat and closed my eyes. I was hoping to fall asleep so I won't have felt a thing when the explosion would came

"But then something happened: I had some sort of… vision, if you want to call it like that, that in a very subtle way told me that I could use the pod the crew was meant to use to shuttle papers and mail to the surface in case of emergency"

"Was it the ghost of the commander?" Evan joked

"It was the ghost of someone we had known personally" Cade replied without missing a beat

"I see…" Evan bowed his head, silently reprimanded by Sarah "Sorry!"

"Never mind!" Cade continued "Anyway, I managed to operate the pod. I was cramped inside a space no larger than this bed and when the reactor exploded, I was at the currents' will. I finally ended up on a beach somewhere south of the Golden Saucer. The WRO found me and here I am…"

When the WRO team alerted by the family had found him, he was immediately shuttled to the WRO hospital in Niebelheim, still not recognized by anyone since his dog-tags had gone missing. Thankfully, when the pod was examined, it was revealed that it belonged to the _Dragonette_ , and some officers made a beeline to the WRO Headquarters revealing that there was a potential survivor from the explosion.

Reeve was flown into Niebelheim and recognized Cade. There was no point in trying to describe what the head of the WRO had felt upon realizing that Cade was alive

"And that is pretty much everything I have to say. If something else happened, I was too unconscious to notice that…" he concluded, causing laughter among his audience.

Of course there was some time to talk specifically with his uncle. Not without the constant presence of Yuffie by his side. Far from being a nuisance, Reeve had immediately realized that Cade was too fond of her to let her go

"Cade" Reeve said "I've heard some rumours that hint at the fact that you'd wish to leave the WRO…"

"Well…" Cade was quite embarrassed at the perspective of confessing that intention to Reeve "Please, uncle Reeve. I'm not doing that out of ingratitude. It's just that I think I've discovered that maybe now my place is somewhere else…"

Reeve raised his hand

"Say no more, Cade" he told him "It's your life. Surely you will be missed. But apart from that, it's your life and you have the right…, well now you have the duty to be in charge of yourself. I think Yuffie is strong enough to keep you on your tracks… Am I right Yuffie?"

"You bet you are!" the ninja enthusiastically replied, kissing Cade on the cheek

"If this is a threat" Cade smiled "I'll tell you it's not working…"

"Ah, Cade" Reeve amicably slapped him on his shoulder "Just pay a visit to your old uncle every now and then…"

"I'll do" Cade nodded "Thanks Reeve. I'm a very happy man right now"

Reeve bowed his head upon hearing Cade's sincere words

"It's great to hear that, Cade" he said hugging him before walking away.

Then, of course, came the most dreaded talk of all.

It was Godo's turn

"So, it has been brought to my attention that there quite an affection running between you two…" he said

Cade was sorting out the words to tell him that indeed he loved his daughter but Yuffie came first

"Yes, dad. There is!" Yuffie nodded "Even if Cade is too spineless to admit that…"

"Hey, mind your words!" Cade reprimanded her "I remind you that I saved the world…"

"Heaven, don't start using that excuse now!" Yuffie sighed

"I have the feeling you are going to give me quite the headache" Godo considered

"No, Sir" Cade immediately replied "I'll treat your daughter the way a princess is supposed to be treated. Provided, of course, someone like me is allowed to be engaged with the princess"

"That's not an issue" Godo shook his head "And as far as Yuffie is happy, I'm happy too. Bear just that in mind"

"I'll do, Sir" Cade nodded

"By the way, I heard Yuffie has offered you to stay by her place"

"That is right, Sir" Cade robotically nodded again "Provided this is fine with you"

"And she told me" Godo continued "That you wish to repay your debt, somehow"

"Yes, Sir"

"Don't worry" Godo said "Wutai is a great country. We will find you something to do once you will be fit for it. Up to now, keep an eye on my daughter for me…"

"Hey!" Yuffie protested "I can provide for myself"

"Didn't you hear your father Yuffie?" Cade teased her

"Cade Tuesti" Yuffie sternly replied "I remind you that you will be staying at my place. So behave yourself"

And that's how Cade found himself between a rock and a hard place.

"What are thinking of?" Yuffie asked him, still laying on the ground, eyes in the sky

"Lots of things" Cade replied

"Like…"

"Like where are we going from here" he continued "What are we going to do, and such…"

"How about 'living', for a start?" she suggested "Enjoying everything a boring life in a country like this has to offer, without fearing that someone might… take them away from you" she said, putting a hand on his chest

Cade turned and kissed her

"I like that" he said "I could use some living, especially here…" he added, pointing his finger around

"You really like this place…" Yuffie told him

"I do, really" he said "It's so peaceful. It really makes you feel like… I don't even know! Damn it, it seems so unreal to me…"

"Why? What is unreal?"

"The world at peace" he replied. Or at least momentarily "And you by my side…"

His thoughts were interrupted by Yuffie who climbed on top of him, sealing her lips on his. They stood together for a while

"This is real, Cade" she told him "You just have to get used to it"

"That sounds awful" he replied

Yuffie kissed him again

"I'll give you that" she said

Cade made just in time to catch a glimpse of the giant Buddha carved on the slope of the Da Chao mountain before giving in to Yuffie's assault

"Do you think…" Cade asked her, catching breath in a hiatus

"What?"

"Do you think he would take it as an offense?"

"What?" Yuffie asked again

"If we made love, right here under his nose!"

"You perv!" Yuffie slapped him on the cheek, laughing "But you know… after all it's just a statue" she coyly smiled

"Have you made up your mind?"

"Yes" she replied, as she slowly took of her fleece sweater "I do have"

"I love you, Yuffie"

"I love you, Cade"


End file.
